Faeries and Folklore
by Volati
Summary: Three years ago, it started with a book; revealing secrets which spread far into the stars. Lucy never knew such a simple thing as skimming its pages could lead to a growing darkness, dimming light and a whole lot of Fairy Tail havoc in between.
1. 1:1:The Stellar Return

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters.**

**Summary:** After 3 years following a dark legend, Lucy returns to find little has changed. As dreams become reality and the impossible, possible; Can Lucy find that one fairy tale that can make her dreams come true? Or will she fall into a sleep of hellish nightmares?

Regular

_Thoughts_

"Dialogue"

R & R

* * *

Ch 1: The Stellar Return

* * *

In the mid-afternoon, the town of Magnolia glowed in the sun. The villagers bustled about the markets preparing for the next few days. Streamers and decorations lined the streets and everything just seemed to shine. Fantasia this year would be even better than the last.

A young woman of 21 walked down the path, her heels clicking on the cobblestone in her wake. Her attire consisted of a mid-length skirt that had a frill trim and a collared tank top with an attached caveat. A gold key adorned each of her ears. One key held the symbol for Leo; the other held Gemini. Other assorted keys hang from one side of her waist. While, a whip rested on the opposite side. Many watched her pass by, immediately recognizing the woman who had left the town for three years.

"My god…Its Lucy!"

"_WHAT?!_"

"Mommy, who's the pretty lady?"

"Lucy's come back home!"

"Now everything will be back to normal!"

"Why'd she leave?"

She sighed. Lucy had hoped to get into the town without causing a stir. She didn't expect anyone would know why she left in the first place. Only a few people were privy to the information. Brushing her blond hair aside, she hurried down the street to get away from the curious townspeople. Her heels didn't really help much in her hope for speed and stealth.

'_Let's just hope no one else sees me till I get there_'

"HEY!"

"Ah, crap." She groaned. Cursing her luck, she turned around. She was met with the sight of Salamander, her Nakama. A weak grin appeared on her face. Out of all people she didn't want to meet at the moment, he topped the list. "H-hey Natsu! I was Just going to see you at Fai-" She began before having to scramble out of the way of an oncoming punch.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" Lucy yelled, quickly recovering before brandishing her whip. The ground before had turned into rubble. She shivered for a moment before glancing at the pink-haired assaulter. She cracked her whip, readying for another attack.

"Who are you and where have you been?!" Natsu yelled, ignoring her question.

Wary, she replied "I'm Lucy…don't you remember?" She paused before answering his other question. "I've…been around, Natsu." She finally replied.

He growled in response.

Her comment didn't seem to appease the man before her. Honestly, it didn't make her feel better either. However, she had to be vague for she had no right to tell anyone where she was until Makarov said she could. In addition, that wouldn't happen until Natsu stopped attempting to beat her into the ground. "I can't say anything yet." She murmured. She quickly closed her eyes after seeing him charge once more. Lucy didn't feel like she had the right to hurt him. After all, leaving her friends for three years without any goodbye must have made them upset.

_I deserve this._

_Poof!_

She awaited pain. Seconds felt like minutes and yet nothing happened. Opening her eyes, she gasped at what she saw: Loki stood before her, protecting _her_. Her hand immediately went for the currently glowing key on her left ear. "Thank You." She whispered. Lucy ignored the fact she hadn't even summoned him.

Loki nodded in reply before giving Natsu his attention. "Now why in your right mind are you attacking Lucy?" He questioned. He already knew of the Lucy and Natsu's Relationship, they were nakama. Hell, all three of them were nakama. They never attacked each other unless it was a challenge. This was no damn challenge. "Natsu." He hissed.

Natsu, wide-eyed, stepped back. He didn't really expect Loki to appear out of nowhere. Glancing at the lion spirit, He tapped at his chin wondering if he should answer. He instead shoved Loki aside, getting direct view of Lucy.

"What the fuck?" Loki yelled. He quickly glanced at Lucy hoping for her to give some sign to do something. Catching her eye, he understood.

_Let him._

Sighing, he stood back and watched awaiting the second, he could kick Natsu's ass.

* * *

Natsu walked around Lucy checking for anything out of place. He glanced at the keys, which dangled on her hip along. His vision then shifted to the whip that was held in her tattooed hand. Natsu didn't even question her choice of clothing, it seemed normal compared to what he had seen her in. He then gave Loki a look and then stared back at Lucy. "Are you really her?" He questioned, his voice strained with emotion. He had to know. It had been too long since they've seen each other.

Lucy released a breath she never knew she held. She grinned. Placing her hands against his cheeks she replied. "It's always been me Natsu. Who else can summon that idiot lion over there?" She gestured to Loki who shrugged, ignoring the insult.

"You never summoned me, Love." He teased.

"I'm not your love!" She retorted, a light pink appearing on her face.

A happy grin appeared on Natsu's face. He quickly enveloped Lucy in a hug, swaying her back and forth.

"Wha?!" Lucy screamed, confused.

"YOU'RE BACK! YOU'RE FINALLY BACK!" He exclaimed, tears pouring from his eyes. Placing her back on the ground, he continued poking around making sure Lucy was real.

"Hey! Stop touching me, pervert!" Lucy yelled, hitting him with her whip.

"OW! Luceeee!" Natsu whined, getting the message to leave her alone. He scuttled away before prodding Loki as well. Satisfied, with his findings he calmed down. "So…why can't you tell me where you disappeared to?" He questioned. "Three years is a _long_ time Lucy. I have the right to know."

"I told you I can't say. Not yet anyway."

"WHY NOT?!"

"Because. I just can't. Let's get to the guild, then I'll tell you everything." She stressed. Lucy immediately began walking away, towards the guild. She just wanted this mission to be over as soon as possible. She wanted to tell her nakama _everything. _"Loki, shall we go?" She called to the Lion spirit, having him always with her. She glanced back at him, and smiled.

_Let's go home_.

"I'm way ahead of you honey." He grinned, walking forward and carrying her away bridle style towards Fairy Tale.

Lucy could only groan at his gesture, yet her blush on her cheeks said otherwise.

* * *

Natsu stood there for a moment and blinked. The fact Lucy was back was still boggling his brain. Finally back on earth, he noticed the duo already a far distance away.

"HEY! Wait for me!" He yelled after them.

* * *

In mere minutes, the Stellar Spirit and Mage were side-by-side nearing the Fairy Tail HQ. Loki had put her down a while ago after he commented on holding her like that more often. Finally reaching the front of the building, they couldn't help but stare. It had never changed since they last rebuilt it. It was a strange sight though that no one was outside. It reminded them of memories from long ago; the smiling happy faces and constant wreckage. They had really missed all this.

Natsu had finally caught up. He stopped a while back after losing them in the crowded streets. The villagers all knew about Lucy's arrival and seemed it was right to inform Natsu. The constant reminder from the townspeople kept slowing him down. It's was a wonder to him that no one from Fairy Tail had found out, well except for him of course.

"We're here!" He smiled, his hands on his waist. He too gave the Guild a good look before turning to Lucy and Loki. They both gave looks of uncertainty.

He shook them in reassurance before walking towards the gates to get in. He turned his head to give them one more look. "We missed you Lucy. Don't leave us again. Please?" He pleaded, understanding how Lucy felt. "I know you're afraid, but I'll wait for you inside Luce." He spoke. He was already half way through the door, yet he awaited anything to come from the Stellar Mage's mouth. People inside were already calling to him. His pink hair made it easy for his comrades to identify him. He ignored their calls for the time being.

"-I won't leave.." Lucy began. Thoughts of how the mission started went through her mind. She had left this place reluctantly. She was determined not to do that again. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she looked toward Natsu and a set a light smile. "I'll go inside soon."

Natsu nodded. He knew he could've forced her in, but he knew he had to be patient. He had waited three years already, a few minutes wouldn't hurt. "Okay." he replied before he fully slipped into the guild known as Fairy Tail.

* * *

She sighed heavily, wondering what she should do. She could easily just run away. _But I've been running away for too long_. Lucy immediately rejected that idea. She wanted to go in, but didn't wish to gather any attention. Doing anything crazy was something she couldn't do, although her guild was known for doing crazy things. Putting the _whole_ guild to sleep like Mistgun or turning people to stone like Evergreen was impossible. Maybe a disguise?

"Lucy."

Lucy shook her head, still engrossed in her thoughts. A disguise wouldn't work either…it was too obvious to the guild that it was her. Besides she was a horrible actress. How about-

"YO!"

"What!?" She yelled back, brought out of her thoughts. Noticing it was Loki she scowled. "Why are you still here?"

"You still need my help Lucy." He stated the obvious.

"Yes you do." He said softly, taking Lucy's hand in his. She reacted to the contact. Her eyes immediately glanced up to see his face. His mouth was set in a deep frown and he gave a look of worry. Seeing his concern she frowned deeply. He was _concerned_ and she didn't even notice. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"For what?" He replied back, abet softly. His fingers began to caress the tattoo which was across the hand he held. "You have done nothing wrong princess." He murmured before bringing her hand to his lips, kissing it lightly.

Lucy's face became a bright red. All she could do was stare at him. "I…" She started, before shaking her head in defeat. Loki sighed.

"Hey, Lucy. We're back. The mission's done. _We're home_ . Nothing will happen again." He stated, his grip on her hand becoming tighter. "Nothing will hurt you, _I _won't hurt you and they surely won't hurt you." He said softly. "So let's go." He smiled, pulling her towards the door.

"Hey! Don't I get a say in this?!" Lucy panicked. She couldn't get away with Loki's hand grasping hers.

"If you didn't want to come here, you would've dismissed me. Besides, I'm with you so don't worry!" He grinned, hoping to reassure her. His hands met the flat surface of the wood door. Pushing it open, he was met with the loud noise of the guild.

* * *

Many faeries were crowded around Natsu, asking him where he disappeared off to, and something about Erza and Gray looking for him. He looked around, trying to find some way out of his game of 21 questions. He found it when he looked to the open door and saw a smiling Loki who had Lucy in hand. He questioned the sight for a moment before deciding it was the best option.

"HEY LUCE!" Natsu greeted, waving his hands in the air at the two who walked in. He knew that would work.

And he was right. The others quickly glanced to the door and gasped.

"LUCY!"

"Lu-channn! Where have you been?!"

"Hey it's the bunny girl!"

Lucy twitched. Out of all names, that one bothered her. But it didn't compare to all the eyes watching her. Seeing all the faces stare at her stressed her out. "Don't you dare leave me." She hissed aside to Loki.

"I would never dream of it Lucy." He replied nonchalantly.

She sighed before giving a small smile to the onlookers.

"I'm back."

* * *

Fin~ Ch.1

A/N: So, what did ja' think? I have purposely left some info out, as it will be reintroduced later in the story. So, please tell me of any grammatical errors, or spelling issues and other things if you wish :). FLAMES WILL NOT BE EMBRACED. (Although, for Natsu's I'd totally be burned for. 3)

~Review~


	2. 1:2:What a Reunion!

Thank you so much guys for the reviews and alerts :). We'll be seeing more…or less of things in this chapter. You'll find out what I mean.

R&R.

**Disclamer: **I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters.

* * *

Ch 2: What a reunion!

_'One must start chaos, to end with chaos_.'_ ~Unknown  
_

* * *

Erza was annoyed.

She was looking through Magnolia for Natsu for the past two hours and there was no sign of him. This was supposed to be a quick and simple request for Master. But no, Natsu seemed as if he had disappeared. Erza's patience was wearing thin.

Erza had looked in Lucy's apartment, which was crowded as ever. Since Lucy had disappeared, it was just a hangout for the trio and Happy. She along with Natsu and Grey continued to pay for it, hoping they would find Lucy in it one day. Natsu wasn't hiding in there when they checked.

She then looked in the waterways. Well, considering that and she had thrown a half-naked Gray into the river to look as well. He had to swim around for quite some time. Sadly, Gray came back empty handed. So had Erza. It seemed Natsu hadn't drowned himself. Master would've had a fit if he did.

She finally got a lead when she discovered a group of people fixing a huge crack in one of the main streets. Asking around, Erza discovered that Natsu was here and left with Lucy about an hour ago.

Wait a second.

"Did you say _Lucy_?" She questioned, stressing Lucy's name. The towns person nodded. He then described what happened and what Lucy was wearing.

The fact that she was back was a bit of a shock. Lucy had been gone for three _years_ and Erza, like many others in the guild, had no idea why she left. She had to make sure this 'Lucy' was real. This couldn't just be a rumor that she was back. It would be a disaster if it was. Rumors like this happened so often it made many of the guild upset. The hope they would gained from these stories, would just deflate and make the guild sadder than had been. So, she continued to listen to the man. At the time, he was talking about how Lucy dodged Natsu's punch and then a man similar to Loki appeared.

Erza nodded at the towns person. _Lucy's reflexes are getting better._ Erza noted to herself.

There was no question about it. The only person who Loki would be with was Lucy. She shook the man's hand in gratitude before grabbing onto Grey.

"Erza? Where are we going now?" Grey questioned. He already was tired with looking for Natsu and this idea of Lucy being back was getting on his nerves. There were many false alarms about her return. He hoped this wasn't another one.

"We're going back." Erza commented, her facial expression was a serious one.

"Where's 'back'?"

"To Fairy Tail. We need to discuss something with a long-lost friend."

* * *

"So where have you guys been?" Mirajane asked, cleaning a glass behind the counter.

The ruckus that resulted from Lucy's return had dwindled down. Everyone was back at his or her tables, gossiping about what was to come.

Loki at that time was preoccupied with Natsu who was questioning him much like Mira was with Lucy. Natsu, however, seemed more enthusiastic with his questions. From Lucy's view she could see Loki shaking his head constantly, refusing to talk. Natsu's enthusiasm quickly turned into frustration. She couldn't help but laugh before turning back to Mirajane.

"We've been around." Lucy stated. She remembered saying the exact same thing to Natsu a while ago. _Yea, before he almost punched me in the face_.

"Ah…really? So you didn't go on a 'secret mission' Makarov gave out. Ne?" Mira nudged.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. It seemed more people knew about it than she thought. "How much did he tell you?"

"Not a lot. Just something concerning the 'Lullaby' Weapons. What they were, what they did, that kind of stuff."

Lucy flinched. She had moved a hand to cover a part of her side.

Mira quickly took note. Putting the glass down, Mira moved from behind the counter and sat on a stool beside Lucy. "Did you have to do something with them?" She gestured to the hand Lucy had moved.

"I can't really explain yet."

"I understand."

"Understand what?" Natsu asked, from a nearby table. "Loki wouldn't tell me anything. He's too loyal to you Luce." He whined.

"Of course I am you idiot. She's my master." Loki quipped, moving over to the bar where Mira and Lucy. He smiled to the two ladies before him.

Lucy giggled. "He's been sworn to secrecy for now, Natsu. You won't get much from him. And me either."

"Why not? Luce." Natsu groaned. He really wanted some damn answers! "Why can Mirajane know and I can't!?"

"It's a girl thing." Mirajane winked, before returning to the back of the counter.

"I wish I was a girl." Natsu puffed, crossing his arms.

Loki and Lucy could only laugh at the idea. Natsu in a dress…how strange.

"You wouldn't be much of a girl." Loki remarked.

"Bastard! I'd be a better girl than you!" Natsu yelled.

"Meh." Loki scoffed, "I'd rather stay male, thank you. Besides, If I was a girl, I couldn't be with princess over here." He smiled to the stellar mage.

A few people who had tuned into the conversation 'oohed.'

Lucy could only blush. She had gotten the hint. "S-shuddup Loki."

"You're already with Luce, Loki!" Natsu retorted. "You're her spirit-thingy." He tried to elaborate with strange hand gestures.

"That's not what he was talking about, you idiot!" Lucy yelled, throwing her empty beer bottle at him.

Again, the few faeries who tuned into the conversation 'oohed' but a bit louder this time.

"Hey!" Natsu dodged the oncoming projectile. "Then what is he talking about Luce?" He questioned. He still had no idea where this was going.

Loki shook his head. Maybe this was the right time..? "Princess…" he began, getting Lucy's attention.

"Stop calling me that!"

He chuckled, taking her in his arms. "So, what was I talking about hm?" He questioned, leaning into her ear. "C'mon…I don't bite hard. Tell me." He whispered. He knew that she had gotten the hint before. He just hoped she would crack and spill something, _anything_ about himself and her.

Lucy blushed. "W-what are you doing…?" She whispered to Loki. She squeezed her eyes shut after feeling him blow into her ear. "S-stop it." She demanded weakly, pushing him away. She hadn't even noticed what she had done.

Loki sighed. He knew it was going to end like that. Somehow, it made him more upset than the previous times this has happened.

This game of prodding he played with her would always consist of him bothering Lucy until her face turned red. Then he would end up hurt. Which he did, again. However, it was only a matter of time before it would end. They've played this game for a while now after Loki had discovered how she felt about him awhile back. However, pride held them in his grasp. Neither of them wanted to lose. Neither of them wanted to confess.

'_I must seriously be a masochist if I keep doing this to myself._' He thought.

* * *

Natsu, at his table, tilted his head. He was very confused with the events unfolding before him. "What the heck are you guys doing?" The display obviously wasn't getting the idea across to Natsu. Instead, for some reason, he felt slightly irritated at the close contact the two had with each other. Glancing at Lucy, who had her eyes shut, and then at Loki; he surmised that B was hurting A. "Hey hey, stop bothering her, Loki." He demanded.

Loki, already an arm's length from Lucy, gave Natsu a quick glance. He didn't need to be told to get away from her. Lucy already made that obvious. Looking down at Lucy, his lips straightened into a grim line. "No need Natsu, I can tell when I'm not wanted." He quickly saw Lucy give him a look of despair before he returned to the Spirit Realm.

His key, which hung on Lucy's left ear, had quickly lost its glow and returned to its shade of gold once more.

* * *

Lucy sighed. She didn't know how to feel anymore. She knew she loved him. There was no doubt and yet…she was to chicken to say anything. Resting her head on the table, she tried to think about every chance she had to tell him. She couldn't even think where to start. Remembering what had happened a bit ago, she sighed. Loki was easing her into saying something. He knew…and she just pushed him away.

"Geez…I'm an idiot…" She muttered to herself.

"A total idiot!"

"Mhm."

"A fool!"

"Yes…."

"A crazy girl who-"

"Okay. Whoever the hell you are, you better cut it out!" She interrupted, getting annoyed with the little voice that agreed with her. Getting out of her slump, she looked around to see who annoyed her. Everyone seemed preoccupied with his or her own business; even Natsu, who was chatting with Happy.

"Lucy-princess-san! Piri-piri! We're down here!" Gemi called. Catching her attention, the twins waved.

She had immediately swept them up. She hadn't even noticed they appeared, and yet it was obvious they had. The other earring she had was glowing brightly.

"How'd you guys get here? I thought that only Loki could do that." She asked, cradling them in her arms.

"Trouble. piri-piri." Mini answered.

Lucy didn't understand.

"Something's wrong with master yes? Piri?" Gemi questioned. When they had appeared after Lucy was on memory lane, calling herself an idiot. Seeing their master do it, they had followed suit.

Lucy shook her head. She couldn't think of much that was bothering her...except for Loki. She guessed her emotions had called the spirit. Being a cancer, she wondered for a moment why the hairdresser spirit hadn't appeared. She didn't dwell on it for long.

"No… I'm fine." She said with a slight waver in her voice. The twins were unconvinced with her answer.

"You lie."

"Yes, yes you lie!"

_Poof!_

Coughing at the sudden cloud of smoke, Lucy found herself….looking at herself. _What?_ The twins had turned into her. It all became clear.

_Crap! They're going to read my memories!_

"We have to help you Master –san!!" Faux-Lucy smiled.

Ignoring their explanation, she immediately went for an key-earring, trying to unsnap it off.

"Lucy's opinion on others:…Loki...oh…" Faux-Lucy giggled. Gemini had already found the issue.

"HEY HEY! Gemini hush!!" She said, talking loud enough to cover their verbal data transfer. The twins however, still seemed as if they were gathering more data. Seeing this as a bad sign, she hurried in taking off her earring, the damn clasp was giving her a hard time.

"WHOA!" Natsu yelled pointing at the two Lucy's. "Luce, when'd you find your twin sister?!"

"Aye Lucy! She looks just like you!" Happy commented.

"I DON'T HAVE A SISTER!"

"Natsu, that's her stellar spirit." Mira commented from behind the bar.

"The Lullaby project…" Gemini mumbled. Faux-Lucy looked disconcerted at the info they we're reciving. "What..?" Gemini gasped, holding its head.

Mira raised her head. She looked concerned.

"Huh?" Natsu wondered. "What's your sister going on about now?"

Quickly using this as a chance she raised the key she finally took off her ear to return the twins. Already keen on the knowledge of being able to silently open and close stellar gates at will, she took the chance and turned the key.

She didn't expect the noise of another summoned spirit. The faux-Lucy was still standing, Gemi and Mini hadn't disappeared and another person joined the party. Taking a glance at the key she took off, she sighed, exasperated. _Leo_.

* * *

"Lucy… why'd you call me again?" Loki called through the smoke. He hadn't expected her to summon him any time soon. He afterall, wasn't wanted by Lucy at that time. Now, he was back…and strangely,

in nothing but a towel.

Lucy was speechless; hell she couldn't think. She was too concerned with the fact that he was drop dead sexy with nothing but a towel on.

Loki seriously didn't really expect this. He was going to take a shower, but being dragged out of the spirit world made that impossible at the moment. Sighing, he sat down next to Lucy. "So why am I here?" He asked again. The whole towel business didn't seem to affect him. Lucy still hadn't said anything. She was just staring at him. Her eyes had fogged over, and yet gave off a strange feeling. _Lust..?_ Loki thought. Maybe he should do something like this more often? He internally mused.

The men however were not amused with the nudity. "What the hell man!" Natsu complained. A few other males grunted in agreement. They already had Grey as an exhibitionist, they didn't need another one!

The female faeries however were also taking advantage of his lack of clothing, giving him the same look Lucy was.

Feeling a bit playful, Loki winked at some of his admirers. The action broke Lucy out of her trance.

Lucy blinked twice before turning her head away. "Oh...my god!" Lucy panicked. She couldn't help but smack herself. Why didn't she check the key?! Hell, she knew it wasn't glowing and yet she used it anyway! This..this was a total disaster. Gemini was currently in data absorption-mode. Loki was sitting next to her, in nothing but a towel ; and to her distaste, seducing the girls in the guild and the male population in the room at the same time was threatening to kill the person that sat next to her.

All it took was some sort of glass that hit the wall for hell to break loose.

In mere seconds, the whole guild turned into a huge riot; tables were upturned, magic flew through the air, and Loki...well, he still looked fine and was doing great in that towel of his.

Lucy had taken refuge under the bar, dragging Gemini along with her. Mira had left to watch the violence, making sure no one became fatally injured. Lucy thought she was insane, but that wasn't important. Lucy was more concerned with her magic. She knew her magic was running thin after all this accidental summoning. Still, the thought of dismissing her spirits was far from her mind. Gemini wouldn't be a problem, but she would need to get up to dismiss Loki. Knowing some of the girls who wanted her lion spirit and her relation to that said spirit, standing out in the open wasn't good. There was no way she would get involved in that battlefield...although the whole thing was indirectly her fault in the first place.

"Damn it! This can't get any worse." Lucy panted.

Unbeknown to those fighting, the door had eased open.

Curious, Lucy peeked above the bar to see how the fight was progressing. Glancing at the door, she paled. She knew lady luck had deserted her just then.

* * *

"Hey!!" Grey roared. He glanced around quickly seeing the mess the guild was in. Eager to fight, he quickly joined the fray. Somehow, his clothing had quickly disappeared as he entered the chaos.

"GREY!" A few greeted over the fighting and magic. A few complaints of 'Keep your clothes on!' were audible as well.

However, The red haired mage standing still at the door, was not pleased.

"What the heck is going on in here?!" She yelled.

"ERZA!?"

"Agh, crap." Lucy mumbled. She sunk back behind the bar. She was so dead.

* * *

Fin~ Ch.2

A/N: Heehee....

So, we have some insight on what Lucy was doing for three years...something about some 'Lullaby'? Other than that, Erza's here and shes not happy, Loki and Grey finally have something in common and Lucy's preparing for her death bed.

So with that said, Review!


	3. 1:3:Over the Counter

**A/N: **Ok, this chapter ended up becoming too long, so I broke it up into two. Now things will be very different compared to what one knows/understands in the manga. So please don't tell me that this or that is not what happens. I already know.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters.

* * *

Ch 3: Over the Counter

* * *

It was as if time had stopped. Fists once aimed for faces went limp. Spells that were casted had stopped flying. It was just…silence. Silence all due to one female mage.

Erza.

..or Titania, whatever you wanted to call her. The queen of the faeries was here and her power seemed absolute. Those around her made it obvious.

The floor creaked as she stepped into the center of the mess hall…and what a mess it was. It was totally _wrecked._

Erza gave quick looks to those around her, each returning it with a look of uncertainty. Her head quickly spun to meet Grey and Natsu, who had stiffened in her sight. They had their arms slung over each other, falsely smiling to greet the Requip mage.

She had no qualms about the ice mage; after all, she knew what they had been doing before arriving to this chaos. However, she glared at the pink haired male. _He _was their reason why they were gone; gone for two damn hours. In her opinion, two damn hours that could've been spent preventing what had occurred here.

"Natsu." She stated. Her face turned stony.

He flinched. This was not good.

* * *

Lucy shuddered. She felt the quick diminish of magic that had once been flying through the air. It just all ceased.

_What power!_ She shuddered. She didn't even want to know what was happening to Natsu. She felt the tremors of violence inflicted on the poor fire mage.

"You…we…looking...here...Idiot!" Lucy understood partially. A bit of the conversation Natsu and Erza were having was muffled by her covering her head with her hands.

"S-sorry!" She clearly heard Natsu wail.

The next thing Lucy knew was the fire mage was flung over the bar. She then met face to face with semi-conscious Natsu. He had a huge tear in his vest along with a few scratches adorning his face. From the guild brawl or Erza, she didn't know.

"Hey….Luce..w-why are there t-two of you?" He sputtered out before his vision went dark. Happy had fluttered in nudging the unconscious mage.

"N-natsu! Natsu! Wake up!" Happy cried. The blue cat ignored the two Lucy's crouched behind him.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. She then turned to Faux-Lucy who seemed to be finally out of her data-absorbing state. "Master?" Gemini was also confused at the sight of the dragon-slayer.

"D-don't even ask." Lucy muttered. It was better to stay out of Erza's wrath for as long as possible.

* * *

Erza wiped her hands. Now there was another issue.

"The rest of you!" She declared to the guild.

They tensed.

"Clean this place up!"

"A-aye!"

"Yes Erza!"

Many of them moved simultaneously to pick up the fallen tables and stools. Barrels had been and many begun to bandage the slightly wounded. Loki, who knew he was at fault for the fight, was slowly trying to shuffle away towards the bar. He knew Lucy had hidden over there and he wanted to check on her. Adjusting his towel, he slowly slid against the wall, hoping not to identified by Erza.

_If she sees me…I'm dead!_ Loki mentally stressed. Reaching for his face to adjust his glasses, he cursed. He didn't have his glasses. He then checked his fingers. No ring. He cursed again. He had forgotten his glasses were gone before the fight, he just recalled taking them off before his summoning. His ring however, must have fallen off during the fight.

"Fuck!" He cursed aloud. He quickly regretted what he had done. His head slowly turned toward the armored mage.

HerIts brown eyes were already glaring towards to the towel-sporting spirit.

"I..Uh…H-hey Erza!" Loki greeted weakly.

Recognizing the voice, Erza raised an eyebrow. "Loki." She recalled. She squinted slightly when she noticed what he was wearing. Well, more likely what he was _lacking_.

"Where the hell are your clothes?"

Grey who was being patched up by Kana couldn't help but snigger. He then felt a spike of pain after Kana tightened his bandages. "Shut up!" She hissed. She already had been berated about her drinking; she didn't want that to happen again.

"Well..uh.." Loki scratched his head. He couldn't really explain this, unless he wanted to drop the blame on Lucy. Staying silent for the sake of his master, he trailed off. _She totally owes me for this_.

Erza sighed, stepping toward him. "I know you're not supposed to be here. Unless..Lucy's here."

Loki paled. Still hoping to reach the bar, he continued to slide against the wall, pushing himself further into it. At that moment, he wished he could disappear. Hell, if Lucy could dismiss him at that moment, he would leave with no qualms. Since neither of that was possible, he stayed tight-lipped.

Noticing his silence and his reluctance to talk, Erza quickly grabbed him. "Where is _she_?"

* * *

Lucy and Gemini's eyes peeked over the bar front. Lucy could only worry for the Lion spirit being interrogated by Erza.

"Master, it's Erza?" Gemini gestured to the red haired mage.

Lucy nodded.

"She's talking strangely to Leo. Aren't you mad?" Gemini looked concerned.

"Terrified actually." Lucy murmured back to Gemini. Gemini sighed.

"Lucy." another voice called.

Lucy and Gemini turned to see who it was. Happy who finally noticed the duo, was glancing at the both of them. He raised an eyebrow. He totally needed a fish after this.

"Lucy?" He asked again.

They pointed to each other. There was no way they were telling who was who. Knowing Happy's inclination for switching sides they refused to tell their identities.

"Um…okay." He shrugged. "Well anyway-"He began before being hushed by the two girls. He waved them off. "Don't worry. No one will notice me here behind the bar talking to you Lucy…and other Lucy." He nodded to each one.

The girls glanced at each other, before nudging the cat on to continue.

He cleared his throat."You know, your boyfriend-"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Lucy hissed. Gemini couldn't help but giggle.

He gave her a side-glance before continuing. It seems she was the real Lucy. "Well then, your _close _friend that is a _boy-_"

Lucy sighed.

"Is being manhandled by Erza…and he's coming this way." He quickly finished before fluttering awkwardly to the side, dragging the comatose Natsu along.

"What?"

The sound of a small scuffle immediately flew into Lucy's ears. Suddenly another body flew over the bar top. It had landed where Natsu had been previously located. The body's strawberry blond was very distinctive. The towel was a plus.

"Loki?" The Lucy and Gemini cried. Lucy gave her doppelganger a strange look before turning her attention back to the male. He seemed fine.

Loki blinked shortly before glancing at the two girls. "Are you guys okay?"

The girls nodded.

Satisfied with their remark he turned his attention to something else. His eyes glanced further above their heads. Above them was the bar table. Something gleamed on it.

His ring.

"Ah…so that's where it went." He commented. Lacking injuries, he quickly got up and snatched his ring.

"Hey! Don't get up! Are you okay?" Lucy asked with concern. Without thinking, she stood up to check his injuries. Gemini who still sat under the bar, tried to pull her back down. Lucy refused. Her two spirits paled.

"Lucy.."

"Master.."

They said simultaneously. Lucy raised an eyebrow before noticing what she had done.

"…"

"I know you love me and all Lucy, but even I would've stayed hidden instead of facing Erza." Loki joked halfheartedly. Lucy could only glare.

Erza looked miffed.

"So _there_ you are."

The trio at the bar had lots of explaining to do.

* * *

Hours later after the incident, Lucy found herself sitting on the second floor with Erza, Gemini and Loki. Having the spirits return to their realm for some short time had helped Lucy's reserves.

The twins had returned in their smaller selves and quickly found place in Lucy's lap. The small spirits would squirm often, causing Lucy to scold them quietly. It was the only thing she could do while avoiding Erza's glances.

Loki, who had found some clothing before his return, sat next to Lucy. His eyes would gleam at the stellar mage while she was preoccupied with the twins. He then shifted his view towards Erza. The brightness in those orbs of his quickly turned into a glower.

Erza raised an eyebrow at the sight. It looked so strange, especially knowing the lion spirit. His playboy mannerisms were infamous throughout the guild. Yet before her, he looked so _tame_. She surmised it was the spirit mage's doing.

"Lucy." Erza began.

Much like everyone else in the guild, she had stiffened at her name. Her spirits around her tensed as well. They knew what she was feeling. Their bond just amplified the effect.

"Where have you been?" Erza questioned. She honestly worried for the blonde mage before her. Having her disappear like that was something Team Natsu didn't need. She hoped she got a good answer, after all concern for her teammate had topped her 'importance' list.

Lucy sighed. The panic in her mind had eased. She expected some yelling or a slap to the face but the question always came first. She hoped this was the last time. She had to find master really soon and get this all sorted out. "I already told a few people in the guild before-"

"We can't tell you." Loki interrupted. His voice stern. It seemed he knew where this was going.

Erza and Lucy looked at the spirit.

"What do you mean?" Erza commanded. She didn't expect such a simple answer. There was no way this was going to end like that. She turned to Lucy hoping she would say something else.

Lucy, noticing Erza, nudged Loki to allow her to continue. He went silent. "As he put it so eloquently," She gestured to Loki. "We _really _can't tell you."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Erza questioned. "Lucy, I missed you. You disappearing for three years is something I can't take lightly." Her agitation was slowly taking root.

"I know but I-"

"No you don't! You don't know." Erza's fingers clenched the hem of her skirt. Glancing downwards, she whispered a few words.

Lucy's eyes widened at what she heard.

"…_we thought you died."_

"D-died?" She stuttered. Out of all things she heard from the guild, this was new. When she returned, they looked so happy. She didn't even realize they were thinking when she was gone. They never even told her. Lucy guessed it was because she never really asked.

"You guys, thought I _died_?"

Erza nodded slightly.

"A few months after you left, people kept on pouring in saying they saw 'a key mage with blond hair'. We _loved _those simple rumors. They kept us _believing_ you were okay. The guild knew it was unhealthy to believe that a simple rumor could mean you would return, but at least it kept us thinking that you were alive. That was understandable." Erza commented before clearing her throat.

Her voice went stony at that moment.

"Suddenly nothing came in. No rumors, no villagers telling us they _saw_ you. It was as if you just _disappeared_. Just like when you first left. We already thought the worst. That was about a year ago."

Lucy understood why; but keeping to her vow of silence on the issue, she kept silent. Erza continued.

"And here you are…sitting. Tightlipped on what had happened three years ago. Lucy, we..I.-hell all of us want to know what the hell happened in these past years." Erza yearned for some response. Anything would satisfy her troubled mind. Knowing if Lucy was unharmed during that time would be even better.

The mage in question said nothing. Her face was downcast, her eyes hid behind a curtain of hair. She wanted to ease Erza, but until Master came around nothing could be told.

Erza looked to the spirits for some reassurance. Loki immediately turned away. The twins, who had moved of Lucy's lap and onto her other side, had also turned their heads away.

Something snapped in the red haired mage. Quickly, she moved towards the crestfallen blond. Erza grabbed onto Lucy's shirt, lifting her out of the chair. Lucy's spirits immediately became wary. "Why the hell are you doing this? To yourself? To us?!" Erza yelled, tears slowly flowing down her cheeks.

Lucy refused to look at her. She felt her heart tearing into pieces, still the silence was all she could bear. She could feel Erza's angry breaths and her fingers clenching and unclenching in the fabric of the shirt Lucy wore. Lucy winced when she felt herself pushed back into the seat.

Taking a quick glance at Erza, she squeezed her eyes shut. Erza's raised hand made it obvious what she was going to do.

Her spirits however were not going to take this sitting down. They lunged.

A set of elongated arms however, had stopped them. One grasped onto Erza's wrist and flung her back. The armored mage had recovered easily.

The other arm roped around the stellar spirits, pushing them back onto the seat they shared with Lucy. Retracting his arms, the owner clapped lightly.

"Hey, hey! Don't get so carried away…" Makarov bowed his head towards the group before him.

Lucy's eyes popped open. She seemed to have a lucky streak when it came to getting 'attacked' by her friends.

Makarov jumped off the railing on which he was standing. He walked over to the seating area which Lucy was in and lifted himself onto a chair that suited his fancy. Makarov then gave a look, acknowledging the girls.

Lucy glanced over to Erza who had tear stains on her cheeks. Erza turned away in frustration when they exchanged glances. Lucy couldn't help but smile faintly. It looked as Erza believed she still had an image to uphold. Putting the thought away, Lucy quickly turned to Makarov.

"Master..the seal?" Lucy squeaked.

"What seal?" Makarov answered. He scratched his chin, looking as if he was trying to remember what Lucy was talking about. He perked up. "Oh _that _seal!" He guffawed . He quickly mumbled a few words before thrusting his hands out at Lucy.

Immediately a bright light flashed. Those watching had shielded their eyes just then.

Lucy felt a gust of air shoot up from below her. She quickly embraced the feeling. The spell Makarov casted caressed her magic. It pulled on something and she felt it gently leave as the spell ended. It was as if a huge weight was taken off her chest. Soon after the short burst of magic, the wind and light had died down.

She was finally rid of that damn seal. She couldn't help sigh in relief. The seal that had prevented her from talking about anything that occurred during her mission was finally gone!

Makarov coughed. All eyes were on him. Lucy's celebration was cut short. "Well then, since that's finally done and over with. I'll need info on how you did with my request Lucy. It wasn't supposed to take _that_ long." He then turned to Erza. "Natsu's here, correct?"

Erza nodded, her emotions back in check. Lucy noticed she had cleaned herself up quickly. A newcomer wouldn't even expect that Erza had broken down before.

"I see." He crossed his arms. "Well then, meet me in the master chamber tomorrow. We have lots to discuss." Jumping out of the couch, he sat in he began to head for the stairs. "Oh and before I forget.." He paused before turning back to face those behind him. His sight honed onto Lucy. A smile appeared on his face.

"Welcome Back." Nodding, he then hurried himself down the stairs.

* * *

Lucy yawned. She sank into her bed, nuzzling the soft cotton fabric beneath her. She had missed her bed, her apartment, and her 70,000 jewel rent….well not so much the last part.

Erza had told her about the apartment after Makarov left. Lucy was extremely grateful for what they had done with the apartment. Erza shrugged it off.

Lucy had quickly explained to her why she was so reluctant to speak. It was the damn seal. Erza immediately understood. The armored mage also wished to discuss more but told Lucy to rest for the night. She had also told Lucy to be prepared for a huge Q & A session in the morning.

It was a miracle that Erza let her off easy that night. Lucy was eternally grateful. Being thrown over bar was something she would never be fond of.

After the whole event the twins had left on their own accord, not before slipping something to Loki, who stayed shortly. He then helped walk Lucy home and readjust to the apartment. The whole time he acted like a total gentleman. Lucy noticed he had been acting like one for quite some time, but she couldn't help miss the wild lion she was once accustomed to.

At his time of departure, Loki had given Lucy a chaste kiss on the cheek. In response, her face turned a pink hue. She remembered the smile on his face before he disappeared through his gate. It took her breath away. It always had.

Lucy sighed, flipping herself over onto her back. She pondered for a moment, thinking. Immediately her thoughts lead to Loki and then her compromising position on the bed. Groaning, she decided to stop thinking down that path before Loki appeared again in something more revealing.

_As if the towel wasn't enough._

Brushing away the dirty thoughts, she reached towards a small leather-bound book on her nightstand. Her mind quickly went back to memory lane. Specifically, memories all about the events that occurred three years ago, which seemed to be foggy in some parts more than others. The book in her hands contained everything her mission had stood for.

Smudged ink and yellowed paper filled the binding but one name which was written by its lonesome on the cover always stood out:

_Layla Heartfilia._

* * *

Ch. 3~Fin

**A/N**: Hm....there's more to come.....


	4. 1:4:Calling for Illusions

**A/N:** Well, here's my gift to all you guys. Another chapter along with the previous one! Whether it be for Valentines day or Chinese New Year, enjoy it! :D

The story will be switching between past and present so be warned.

* * *

Ch 4: Calling for Illusions

"_Illusion is the first of all pleasures."_ _-Oscar Wilde_

* * *

_A woman found herself in a strange place._

_It was dark. Really dark. In all directions, nothing could be seen but darkness. Except for one thing;_

_A lion.  
_

_A glowing lion ,who shined in the darkness. It stared at the woman before it. Waiting..watching..curious to see what the girl would do._

_The girl walked slowly to the creature. The light he gave of in the darkness around himself was reassuring to her. She couldn't help feeling like a fly drawn to a flame._

_The lion suddenly roared. The noise ringed in darkness. _

_His show of power didn't deter the female. Instead her steps were more hurried. Her face was determined. She needed the creature. His light, his warmth…his everything._

_The lion understanding her intentions, waited. It had always waited and it kept on waiting, waiting for her._

_Suddenly the woman disappeared through the darkness. As if it swallowed her whole. _

_The large cat looked on at the event and could only cry in agony…and yet it curled up and waited. _

_Its shine had dulled. _

_The light glowed no more._

_Nothingness._

_Just waiting…in nothingness._

* * *

A group of mages sat in a room. It contained a round table along with many bookcases covering the walls. Magical trinkets of all kinds sat in these cases. Not one held a book.

Lucy who was leaning on her arm didn't care for the décor. She was interested more in taking a nap. Lucy was tired after the strange dream that kept on repeating that night. Reading her mother's book till early in the morning further strengthened her desire to sleep.

Erza who was also in the room noticed the stellar mage's drone-like state. She shook her head.

"Lucy, I told you to get a good night's sleep. We need you to recall a lot of things."

"Mhm…." Lucy nodded slowly. It had taken her a moment to fully comprehend what Erza had said. Flopping lazily to pick up something, she then dropped it onto the table. "Here." Lucy brought her mother's diary along with her to help with the recollection. She pushed it forward to Erza.

Grey and Natsu who were both at the table raised eyebrows. They remained silent as Erza constantly gave them warning looks. They knew if one or the other said something wrong, they'd be kicked out of there in a heartbeat.

Makarov who sat at the head of the table glanced at the leather-bound book. He had been the one to give the book to Lucy. It was strange to see it back after quite some time.

"Lucy, your mother wouldn't want her spellbook to be treated in such fashion." He commented.

The other mages raised eyebrows.

"Lucy's mother was a mage?"

"I thought she was a merchant?"

"She never told us this."

They all turned to the stellar mage for answers. The looks they gave her here were of astonishment and confusion.

Lucy had fallen asleep on the table. Her head nestled carefully in her arms. Light snoring was audible from the sleeping girl. She wouldn't be answering questions any time soon.

Her teammates sighed.

Makarov coughed. "Well…I guess she's out for the count." He hopped onto the table and took Layla Heartfilia's book. Flipping to a certain page he cleared his throat. Rereading what he saw on the page he sighed. It was total gibberish to him. He quickly shut the book. "Ok, this isn't going to work." He pointed to the sleeping mage. "Anyone want to wake her up?"

* * *

Grey found himself badly lashed along with a huge hand mark upon his face. He drew the short straw in the 'wake Lucy up' mission. His attempt at waking her up went badly as he decided to place an icicle down her shirt.

Of course, she woke up but not gracefully.

She fell out of her chair, screeching at the sudden coldness. She clawed at her back trying to remove the foreign substance.

Once she pulled it out, she immediately honed for the ice mage. There was no other way an icicle could appear in her shirt unless he formed it. Brandishing her whip, she gave him a few cuts before giving him a palm to the face. That'll teach him to bother a sleeping mage.

Back in business, the mages continued their meeting.

Makarov held up Layla's Spellbook. "Now this is why you guys are here." He began.

Layla's Spellbook consisted of many notes on the stellar spirits and keys but the most important thing that was held in there was the spell for a seal. That page however was missing. The seal in question was similar to one that the council used to seal away the "Lullaby". However there were more than just one Lullaby weapon.

"There are actually 6 of those things." Makarov stated. "Each one having an ability of its own. All using sound, wind magic, along with the living magic. That gives them the ability to bring down whatever was in their way."

He went to one of the shelves and pulled out a scroll. Unraveling it onto the table, it showed diagram of the weapons. The flute, which they had encountered already, was crossed out. A claymore, bow, mace, dagger and scythe were drawn messily onto the diagram. Each one's name had fallen under its image.

Makarov pointed to the bow, known as The Sweet Lullaby. He glanced at Lucy.

Lucy could only scoff. "It ain't that sweet."

The other mages looked at her.

Lucy gestured to the picture. "That _thing_ isn't as nice as it sounds. My mission consisted of me unsealing it and bringing it back here for a stronger sealing."

"Getting _that_ was your mission?" Natsu questioned. He looked at the stellar mage as if she was crazy. It sounded so simple.

"Meh, that doesn't sound that hard." Grey added in.

Erza smacked them upside the head. "You guys don't know when to shut up do you?" She growled.

They apologized, while rubbing the back of their heads.

Makarov shook his head. "The weapons are living magic you idiots. They_ live_. Therefore they can take a bodily shape. Don't you remember what happened in Clover?" Not expecting an answer from the two, he turned to Lucy. "What was it?"

"A siren."

"A siren?" Natsu and Grey asked. They quickly imagined a young woman with large breasts, leaning against a rock of some kind. The duo sighed. They quickly were brought out of their fantasy with another smack to the head.

"You guys are seriously pushing it…" Erza threatened.

"Yea, a siren…it fed on ones desires, and lead them to dwell in their nightmares. I was in a coma for six months because of it."

* * *

_It was the anniversary of Layla Heartfilia's death. Lucy stood before her mother's grave, holding a bouquet of lilies. She placed the lilies into a slot in the ground, replacing the dead ones from her last meeting here. She then thumbed the name on the gravestone before her. _

"_Mother…you would be so proud of me…" Lucy murmured. The death of her mother was sudden and strange, it only seemed like yesterday when they had been together. Lucy could feel her cheeks wet from her tears. She hadn't even heard the steps coming toward her._

"_Lucy…your mother would be proud of what you become." Makarov commented from behind her. He stood there in his normal attire, holding a leather-bound book. Layla's name embellished with gold was prominent on the cover._

"_Master? W-what are you doing here?" She questioned, hastily wiping her tears. Few from the guild knew where she was at the moment. Even fewer knew of the reason. She couldn't recall ever telling the guild leader that her mother's death anniversary was today._

"_I have a request." He gestured to the book before him. "Take this, and bring back something for me."_

_Lucy took the book and glanced down at it. She immediately noticed her mother's name on the cover. It appeared again when she turned the page. "Where'd you get this?" _

"_Your mother left it. In Fairy Tail." Makarov stated. "She was a mage…you know, before she went off into another guild. Some kind of merchants' guild or something." He scoffed. "Hell, she could've done better. But still, I have to hand it to her…having you was not a bad thing." He winked._

"_She was a mage?" Lucy questioned. She first believed that her father bought spirit keys for the sake of Layla's strange obsession with them. She never even thought of her own mother actually fighting alongside these spirits._

_Makarov nodded. He explained Layla's strength and power. Her teamwork with the keys she had was astounding. She would then write her notes into that book, using it as a place to hide certain things and spells. Specifically seals. Layla was known throughout the mage world for her seals._

"_She sealed something away…and it needs to be retrieved. It's not safe where it is right now."_

"_How do I get it?" Lucy questioned. She knew the book held some answers but the fact was she believed she wasn't strong enough for this type of mission. _

"_You're her kin. That will be enough. I can't really tell you anything else since the book should lead the way." He gestured again to the leather-bound._

"_Okay. I'll just go tell Natsu and the others-" She began, gathering her things to leave her mother's grave. As she began to step away, she felt resistance. Lucy turned around._

_A hand held her in place. The owner shook his head. "They cannot do this. Only you can go on this mission. They cannot know." He shrugged._

"_What? A solo mission? A-are you sure? I mean compared to the others I'm not-" _

_Makarov raised his hand, interrupting her. Lucy went silent. "Lucy, your mother was a mage. A really powerful mage. I believe you can do her work. After all, I can see the resemblance; young, blonde, willing to show the world you can do anything. "_

_Lucy smiled. _

"_You girls also had nice packages if you know what I mean!" He joked._

_Lucy's smile quickly turned into a scowl._

"_Anyway," He coughed. The weather was getting chilly. "As I said before, you can. do. this." He emphasized. He knew that Lucy had potential. This mission could be the beginning of her legacy._

_Faintly smiling, Lucy nodded. "Fine. I'll do this. I'm guessing I can't go back to the guild right now?" She raised an eyebrow._

_Makarov agreed._

"_Well then, let's get started. What do I do now?" _

"_Okay, we need to get a seal on you just in case…."_

* * *

"Six months?!" Her nakama yelled.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us anything before?" Natsu yelled. Hell, he was furious. They always had gone on missions and she would always come home with little to no scratches. Hearing about her being comatose for that long of a period made him feel guilty. Guilty for not being there when he could've been.

Lucy, noticing Natsu and that look of sadness in his eyes, smiled in reassurance. "Natsu, I'm fine, see I'm right here?" She gestured to her physical self.

"Natsu, she wouldn't have been able to tell us this when she got back." Erza commented. "She was sealed." Erza recalled the previous night at the guild. The bright light was something she could not forget.

Natsu looked unconvinced. He could not recall this 'seal'.

Lucy sighed at his attitude. She quickly then explained the seal to those who weren't at the event last night. The boys who weren't, nodded in comprehension. Done with the short detour in discussion, she continued where she left off. "Besides, even if I was unconscious for six months, I was fine…I had the best healer in Magnolia after all." She smiled.

"And who would that be?" Grey asked. He also looked slightly annoyed at the fact that she was injured for that long.

Makarov and Erza smiled. They knew of whom she was talking about.

"Porlyursica."

* * *

"_Lucy! Lucy! Wake up!" Loki cried. Trying to shake her back into consciousness. _

_The fight with the siren had ended._

_She had Sagittarius and Aries along with him to do some strange spell from a book. It came so easily to them that it was a wonder to watch._

_Ifrit's Roar. _

_One could easily describe it as a huge fiery explosion._

_The blast from the trio was strong enough to knock out the siren, returning it to its weapon form; The Sweet Lullaby. Some kind of bow, which looked more angelic than demonic; the tips of the bow frayed out like feathers while several holes had been drilled into its wood, each one containing a brass ring which dangled from it. _

_However, returning the siren to its bow-like state came with a price._

_Lucy had to wear it down with her whip and other keys. Loki was there for the whole event, helping her all the way. It was a wonder how Lucy kept herself going._

'_She really is a strong mage' He thought. The training they had undergone before they faced the demon was worth it. Although one had to expect some obvious flirting here and there._

_He recalled each and every key she used in quick succession…Apus, Phoenix, Vulpecula and Ophiuchus._

_Earth, Fire, Clones and Snakes…oh my. _

_She was already on wits end when she had gotten a head full of screeching from the siren and a gash in her right side. She was lucky enough to call Sagittarius and Aries to help end it. Watching her drop after the fire blast, he knew she was spent. _

_Aries and Sagittarius had disappeared. It seemed Lucy's desire for Loki to be there was still evident. He wasn't dismissed and he didn't mind. He had to care for the girl before him._

_The wound from the siren's claws was still bleeding on her side. Loki had no idea what to do. Shaking her however, seemed to help her move in and out of consciousness._

"_H-hey…." She said softly. "are we h-home yet? " It seemed as if she was hallucinating. _

"_N-no…Lucy we're not home yet…but we'll get there soon.." He lifted her up gently, cradling her in his arms. _

"_I'm tired….chocolate cake would be nice…yea.." She mumbled randomly._

"_We'll get you some cake Lucy...a huge cake." He responded to her. He had to keep her talking. Her talking was good. If she fell asleep, there was no way she could get home. He knew he would return to the spirit realm if she fell unconscious. He was not going to leave her in this damn forest to die!_

"_Loki…" She mumbled._

"_Yea princess?" He joked halfheartedly. Hell he knew he shouldn't be joking. She was on her death bed for god's sake! _

"_You..you know I love you right..?" She smiled faintly at him. Her eyes were partially lidded, they felt really heavy. She didn't really understand what she had just said. Her emotions were fueling everything that poured out of her mouth at that very moment.  
_

_Loki stilled. "W-what? Don't kid with me Lucy.." He quickly hurried himself forward. He noticed a clearing of trees; resting there would work._

"_I'm…not l-lying you idiot..I still want my cake..." She raised her hand and attempted to smack his face. Due to her weakened state she only was able to pat him firmly against the neck. _

_Loki could only smile weakly at her action. _

_Finally at the clearing, he set her down. Unbeknown to him, he decided to rest Lucy infront of Porlyursica's home. "Lucy…when your better, tell me that again...and I promise you… you'll never be lonely again." He murmured to her._

"_I was never lonely…because I had you..you silly idiot..." She giggled softly. She shut her eyes. Her breathing, which was already irregular, didn't change._

"_You….god." Loki sighed. She didn't even answer his request. He covering his face. Out of all girls, he had to fall in love with his own master and before him, that said girl is lying in a pool of blood. "Don't…don't die on me Luce..okay?" He sobbed to the girl in front of him. He heard her utter a faint 'mhm'._

_A woman had seen the two enter the clearing was glancing through her window, she sighed. She could tell from a mile away that that girl was from Fairy Tail; her tattoo was so obvious on her hand._

"_Makarov owes me a drink for this." She grunted before walking out of her hut. Either way she had to help this girl, or else the Fairy Tail Master would have a fit._

"_You. Boy." She commanded to the lion spirit._

_He quickly turned around. Finally someone to help! "Hey!…please you gotta-"_

_She stopped him in mid-sentence. "Don't ask. Get the girl in my hut now. For all we know, she could be at death's door."_

* * *

"I was holed up in Porlyursica's hut for a while. Loki would appear now and then, saying I had called for him in my sleep." Lucy blushed.

The boys couldn't help but snigger. Erza didn't hit them that time. She too had found that quite amusing.

"When I awoke a few months later, he told me a few snippets of what had happened. He said I had gone into a sleep-like state, screaming most of the time. The damn Siren had screeched long enough for her spell to work on me in my injured state. Everything else that happened during and after the fight that was a blur." Lucy scratched her head apologetically.

She then placed several keys she had onto the table. Four silver keys shone brightly on the surface. "My mother had these hidden in her book's pages." She then pulled out two more silver keys. "Along with these too; Noctum and Monoceros. Loki told me these first four silver ones are what I had used…along with these." She pulled out three gold keys; Sagittarius, Leo and Aries.

"Lucy…that's seven keys." Natsu noted. He had only seen her use two or three gold keys and be spent. Seven keys seemed as a shock to the fire mage.

"I'm guessing you're curious about I could do that?" Lucy questioned the pink haired male.

He nodded.

"Training." She said with a matter-of-fact tone. "I didn't just go for the bow you guys, I had to prepare…duh." She stuck her tongue out. "I spent a year or so…training spells and doing other things.."

"Lucy…where is the bow?" Erza questioned. Hearing about it already perked her curiosity. She wanted to see the demonic weapon.

Lucy glanced at Makarov for approval. He granted it.

Getting out of her chair, she channeled some magic and summoned the bow. Its form materialized in her hands.

"Whoa! Luce you know Requip magic?" Natsu asked, staring at the bow in the meanwhile.

She smiled. "Not really…I only use it for this thing." She gestured to the bow. It being a dark weapon had caused her to gather unwanted attention for a bit. She had to rely on Requip for the bow to keep it hidden.

"It doesn't look _that_ dark. In fact…I'd say it would suit you." Grey commented.

The other mages looked as if he was crazy. It was as if he was fully clothed for once. In that case he actually was.

"I mean, look at _it_! It's a friggin' feather bow." He gestured to the tips of the bow. Its wing-like tips made it look more girly. The bling that hung from the holes in it accented the idea.

A few of the other mages shared glances. They somewhat agreed with the idea. The image in the diagram didn't give the real thing justice.

"Why not on your keys?" Erza questioned about Lucy's requip magic. Hiding the keys would've been more appropriate. After all, Lucy was prone to losing her keys. Erza remembered one spirit in particular the mage had that threatened the girl if she lost the keys.

"I'm too used to them being on me." Lucy patted the keys in emphasis. "Besides, I don't think I'm that clumsy…really?" She pouted slightly.

The other three mages nodded. The girl was a total klutz.

Lucy could only twitch. "Wow…you guys."

Makarov cleared his throat. "Anyway, thank you Lucy for retrieving the bow." He reached for the bow to take it from the stellar mage. It was time to reseal it. As he went to reach it, it sent a strong spark of dark magic his way. He had to withdraw slightly. "The magic's rejecting me." He glared at the wooden object.

"What's that mean?" Grey questioned. Natsu nodded. He also wished to know.

"It won't let him touch it." Erza commented. She also glanced warily at the object. She too attempted to touch it. It had the same reaction towards the armored mage.

"Luce….it only lets you." Natsu surmised. He also attempted to touch it. Several times in fact. Finally getting the drift that it refused to be held by him, he stepped back.

"Master, what should I do?" Lucy questioned. She didn't expect to have the bow for such a long period. Although, having it as an actual weapon did interest her.

Makarov scratched his head. Curious, he picked up Layla's book and turned to another page. The page in question was torn out. The remains of its torn edge lay in the book. "Lucy, keep it for now." Makarov then continued to flip through its yellow pages.

"Master? Are you sure, I mean that thing can cause a lot of trouble.." Erza commented. That bow already caused so much trouble for Lucy, she didn't want the stellar mage to end up becoming a huge target for many dark mages.

Makarov nodded. "I'm sure. After all, Lucy your mother had sealed that thing. I expect that if you find the spell that was in here, you could reseal it later." He returned to the missing page. "Her seals where written here and it's missing. Someone must have gotten to this book before I did." Getting off the table, he reached for another object on the shelves.

It was a small black orb with holes that covered its surface on certain areas. He tossed it to Erza, who looked quite surprised to be the one to get it..

"What is it?" She turned it in her hands, feeling strange holes that covered the orb.

"Shake it." Makarov stated, he quickly pulled a set of strange wing-like earmuffs off the shelves and placed them on his ears.

Erza shook it, a strange little object rattled inside. The noise suddenly became extremely annoying to the ears. She quickly dropped the little ball, it rolled on the floor still rattling away. Once it stopped moving, the noise quickly dissipated.

"What the fuck!?" Natsu groaned, rubbing his ears. The others were pretty much in the same state; nursing their ears after the strange noise.

"That is what the lullaby weapons do with sound…well kind of. Lucy be careful with yours. I could guess what the bow does, but let's not find out unless we really need to. Ne?" He grinned. The noise hadn't affected him in the slightest due to his earmuffs.

It took them a few seconds to recuperate from the sudden blast of noise. Calm and collected, they returned to their seats. Lucy had switched out her bow.

"Ok ok, now you guys." He stated. The four around him gave their full attention. "Find the rest of these weapons. They might be sealed or not; either way get them and bring them back here. Layla's book can guide the way. Don't lose it."

* * *

Ch. 4~fin

**A/N:** Well then, let's begin the hunt! Explode with questions, or say something! I'm on a plot bunny high!

But seriously though, Review.


	5. 1:5:Crawling Through the Night

**Disclaimer:** This thing just appears randomly...so yea I don't own much, except for my OC's and my ideas which seem to multiply like bunnies.

* * *

Ch 5: Crawling Through the Night

* * *

"Ugh…..why a train…" Natsu groaned. He wanted to barf his breakfast, right then and there.

Team Natsu currently sat in a compartment on the train occupying themselves. Lucy was busily skimming through the pages of her mother's book. Erza, who sat near Lucy, would now and then glance at the pages while polishing a new saber she had gotten. Happy was gobbling down a salmon. Gray was too busy laughing at Natsu and the fire mage was groaning and moaning in his chair.

The group had departed from Magnolia a few days ago, heading on a trail for the first of the many Lullaby Weapons. The trip however wasn't going as smoothly for some of the members. Being in various types of transportation in succession had a negative effect on a specific someone.

"You should've asked Wendy to patch you up before we left." Happy commented from his seat. Happy was certainly excited to be on an adventure again. After catching up on all the information the other mages had received a few days ago, he was ready to face whatever was in store.

"….forgot…" Natsu groaned. He moved himself onto the floor, thinking it would ease his transportation-sickness.

"Aye." Happy shook his head sadly.

"Three years and still you haven't gotten use to traveling?" Lucy commented. She had been reading a passage about some crystal keys and some person known as the 'Key Maker'. She couldn't help but have a nagging feeling that she heard of them before. However, the man before her was distracting her from her read.

Natsu groaned in response on the floor.

"What do you expect from the idiot? Not much has changed…really." He commented, while staring out the window. He had finally got bored with laughing at the ill mage. The trees and other objects that passed by seemed more interesting than what was occurring in front of him.

"You..ass.." Natsu hissed from the floor before feeling of his breakfast lurching in his stomach strengthen. Weakly lifting himself onto his feet, he leaned himself out the window to expel whatever he ate a while ago. "Ugh…"

The other passengers in the compartment groaned, sliding away from the open window.

"Damn It! I was looking out there!" Grey complained. His view was obstructed by the pink haired mass.

Lucy sighed. She immediately folded the corner of the page for later and turned to another page. It seemed she would have to find more info on the crystal keys later. There were more important issues afoot. She then turned to look out the window, despite the male hanging out of it. She could see a village coming into view. "We'll be there soon."

The people sitting around her had nodded.

"Thank god!" Natsu sighed.

* * *

A petite woman watched the Fairy Tail mages as they left their compartment, preparing to get off the next stop. They were dragging a body along the train floor; the woman raised an eyebrow at the sight.

She then focused on the hand of the blonde mage before her. "It's her! She has the book!" The girl sang, pulling on the sleeve of the man beside her. The male immediately pried the fingers off his sleeve resulting in the girl's lips turning into a frown.

"Wait…" The male hissed. His attention was also on the group before them. "Don't be hasty little sister. Our time will come." Feeling the train stop, he stood up. Quickly adjusting his clothing for a second, he then offered his hand to the small girl before him. "Shall we play my dear Olette?" He smiled.

The girl took it earnestly. "Oh yes…in blood and bones my brother Werd."

* * *

The group walked into Poppy, a small town in the kingdom of Fiore, many miles away from Magnolia. The village was blanketed in fog and life seemed inexistent throughout its streets. Clouds covered the sky darkening the village further.

Dragging their feet along the dirt road, they had come upon sign. Upon it, someone wrote: 'Welcome to Poppy, the town of eternal sleep'. They quickly discarded the sign after reading it.

"What a dismal little village." Erza stated. The air around her was thick, and yet very eerie. Suddenly a small chime sounded. She turned around quickly to find the source of the noise before shrugging it off.

"Agh..this place is creepy.." Lucy shuddered, crossing her arms to warm herself. She regretted changing into a shorter skirt. The idea of asking Virgo to get some clothing for her from the spirit world crossed her mind. She easily discarded the idea after seeing something scuttle through the shadows.

She flinched. This place was the epitome of creepy; no people, a quiet town isolated by a forest, and little creatures of the unknown scratching and scuttling around. She couldn't wait to get out of here.

"Boo."

Lucy screamed. Quickly reacting to the noise, she attempted a roundhouse kick to the perpetrator. She felt her foot connect and found that she brought down the dragon slayer. "Damn it Natsu! Don't scare me like that!" She sighed. She didn't feel sorry one bit for the mage beneath her. "This place is creepy enough."

"Yea that's for sure." Grey popped in. His head was sticking out of a door of one of the houses. To an onlooker, it seemed as if it was floating in midair.

"What the hell Grey!?" Lucy screeched at the so-called 'floating' head. Questioning the thought for a second, she pointed to the Ice mage. "How'd you get in the house anyway?"

"The doors were open." Another voice spoke.

Lucy looked around to see where it came from. Glancing upward, she saw Erza waving to her. "There's no one in here, it seems the same for the rest of the houses." Erza called from above. She had glanced through the windows of the houses next door. They were exactly the same; no one was inside.

"So how the heck are we supposed to find this damn weapon?" Grey yelled to the girl above.

The stellar mage also had wondered the question. How in the world were they supposed to find info on what was here, when the inhabitants were gone? Remembering she had Layla's book, she immediately opened it, searching for anything on this forsaken place. Finding something, she smiled. The smile however quickly fell into a sharp frown.

"Where do you find graves?" Lucy posed the question to the group.

* * *

"In a graveyard!" Happy chimed.

The group had found themselves in front of a tall, black, and cast iron gate. Through the rails, they saw rows upon rows of tombstones. The idea of Poppy being a town of 'Eternal Sleep' finally made sense. The damn place was known for his massive graveyard.

The village they had been in previously was meant to be empty for the sake of those who let their family rest upon Poppy's lands. The homes that they investigated were to shelter those who wished to visit their lost ones. Someone using the site as a vacationing area was beyond sane in Lucy's book.

Erza quickly rid the gate of its lock. The rusted bars squeaked as they slowly opened. It seems the graveyard hasn't been kept in quite some time.

"We can't find this thing if we stick together. We might have to split up." Erza commented. Although she had suggested the idea, she was more concerned with who would be splitting up and teaming with whom.

She didn't need to make the decision for one of the group; Lucy seemed to have caught Happy's attention and decided to take him along with whoever she was going with.

_That's one down._

Natsu and Grey were currently arguing it out, pressing their foreheads against one another's and hissing that one of them should team up with Erza.

The armor mage sighed. They couldn't had made it any more obvious. "I'll go with Lucy."

The arguing mages were shell-shocked. The moment of surprise however was cut short as they continued to argue about how they were stuck with a bastard/idiot.

Erza, annoyed with the two, bashed their heads together before heading off with a panicking Lucy and wary Happy. "Just go find the damn thing and meet up with us back at the gate." She called over her shoulder, giving a death glare.

The boys quickly agreed, scrambling off into the fog and mass of tombstones.

* * *

"Lucy what are we looking for exactly?" Erza questioned. They had split up with the boys not too long ago. The sky had seemed to darken and yet the lack of light did not change a thing; before them were still tombstones. However, a few statues of angels, and occasionally, demons would appear along the rows. Erza raised an eyebrow at one particular sight, which was a huge statue of a naked figure. She couldn't explain if she was appalled or amused.

Happy who sat upon Erza's head had giggled at the sight. He too was interested in a statue of his own; a huge fish. His stomach had grumbled as they passed it.

"The Grave Lullaby" Lucy answered. She found it very fitting it to be located in a graveyard. Even more fitting that it was a scythe. However, what she found annoying was her mother never _sealed _it. Layla never got the chance. "It may be in its bodily form." Lucy assumed, tensing slightly. Her mother never wrote about the scythe, only where it had been last seen. The diagram that Makarov gave was useless for identifying the weapon; it had a stick figure-scythe draw on it which was to represent The Grave Lullaby. What it would look like, would be a surprise to them all.

"Very well then, watch your back Lucy."

"Right back at cha' Erza."

The girls smiled, taking out their choice weapons; Erza shifted into her Robe of Yuen and wielded a three-pronged spear while Lucy took out two keys.

Two sharp pops followed. Loki in his traditional suit and tie had appeared; he gave a swift kiss to Lucy's hand in greeting. The other being that joined the party was a white unicorn. It whinnied.

Erza raised an eyebrow. "A unicorn?"

Lucy nodded. She had finally gotten a chance to summon Monoceros, the key to the gate of the unicorn. She had already discussed summoning plans with the animal a while back. Other than that, there hadn't been any reason for the animal to be summoned.

"Aye! A pretty horse!" Happy exclaimed.

The unicorn snorted at the blue cat. It seemed very insulted at the remark. Happy shrunk in apology.

Ignoring the blue feline, the unicorn turned to the Stellar Mage. "Hello Master Heartfilia. I, Cero am happy to meet your acquaintance." The horned creature gave a bow in greeting.

"I too am happy to meet you Cero." She bowed to the creature. The beast radiated nobility and composure, and slight pompousness. Feeling it deserved respect as a well-bred animal, she had no qualms about bowing to it. She caressed its mane before locking eyes with the unicorn. Seeing it nod, she leapt onto the creature's back. "Light the way Cero!" She commanded, pointing ahead.

In response, the horn of the beast glowed brightly. The problem about the diminishing light was solved.

Loki pouted, slightly jealous of the shining Unicorn. "I could've done that Lucy." He said to the Stellar Mage.

Cero snorted, mocking the Lion Spirit. Loki frowned in return.

"Yea..That and blind us for the next 24 hours." She giggled. "Don't worry Loki, you're personally my best spirit." She murmured to Loki, winking at him before joining the group.

Loki smiled slightly before hurrying along the path, which seemed to dim as Cero with Lucy on his back went further onward with Erza leading the way.

* * *

"Bastard."

"Idiot."

"Nudist."

"Retard!"

"Oh yea?!"

"YEAH!"

The two mages quarreled as they stomped down the path they were assigned. For the past few minutes, they were more into starting a fight with each other instead of finding the weapon. Lucy and Erza hadn't filled them in on the issue of it being not sealed.

Their moment of glaring however was cut short after hearing popping in the distance, and then a flicker of light following. They surmised Lucy had summoned something. Finally deciding to get somewhere, the boys continued onward, trying to one up the other by taking the lead.

"Hey Gray." Natsu called to the ice mage who was currently behind him.

"What?"

"You'd make nice friends with these tombstones here" Natsu tapped one of them in emphasis. "They're dull and grey like you." He remarked.

Gray twitched. "Well, why don't you go ahead and bury yourself? You need company that lacks brains, just like you."

Natsu scowled.

Grey smirked.

"I hate you."

"I hate you more."

"Why don't you guys shut up and get moving?!" Lucy yelled from afar. They had been yelling loud enough for the girls to hear them across the graveyard. Hell they hadn't moved much since they first split up.

Natsu quickly snapped his fingers to start a light, before running along the path to get farther away from the girls and Grey.

Grey slouched as he walked onward. He sighed. This wasn't going to end well for either of them.

* * *

Its been more than two hours, and the light that once casted through the cloudy sky had vanished. Only Cero's horn had shone through the darkness. A far distance away, they could see the flicker of Natsu's flame. Their voices were no more than slight groans to the girls' ears.

"Erza." Lucy called to the Requip mage ahead of her. She had Cero stop in his tracks, facing the opposite direction. Loki was glued to Cero's side, making sure Lucy wouldn't fall off.

"Yea Lucy?" Erza answered. Happy who rested on her head perked up at Lucy's voice.

"Do you hear that?" There was a small rumbling coming from behind them. Something was moving closer to them. Lucy paled. "Do you hear _that?_" She repeated. Loki turned to look behind them, he raised an eyebrow; there was nothing there.

Erza also turned around. Squinting, she saw something reflect the light from Cero's horn. A body quickly formed through the mist as it came forward. Moving back to cover the horseback girl, she pointed her spear at the intruder. "Who are you?" She demanded to the person.

"Heee…." The figure chimed. Its voice being somewhat high , Erza guessed it was female.

Erza gripped the spear harder, steadying herself making sure she didn't act to hasty. Glancing to the girl behind her, she saw Lucy clutch her mother's leather book to her chest. Loki had his hand on his ring, preparing to attack at any minute. "I said, _who are you?!"_

"A messenger." It said.

Erza hadn't moved.

"Grimoire Heart sends its greeting…to the _dear_ daughter of Layla Heartfilia." The messenger sung.

Erza glared. The name of the dark guild was well known. Whoever this girl was was not just here to send a message. She quickly shifted into her black wing armor. The spear had changed into a red steel scimitar. She adjusted her grip on the weapon, pointing it towards the figure once more.

"W-what do you want?!" Lucy stuttered out.

The figure moved forward. Coming closer to the light, the girl seemed to have long brown hair put into pigtails. Her attire seemed to belong to one of noble status. She bowed to the girls before her. The light seemed to annoy the girl, as she was shading her eyes from the unicorn's glow. "My name is Olette Remmington. I am here to retrieve something from you." She pointed to the book clutched to Lucy's chest. She wasn't fazed in the slightest at the sword tip aimed at her face.

"You can't have it." Loki stated.

"Aye! Its Lucy's." Happy yelled, he had gotten off Erza's head and stayed flapping in the air with his wings.

Olette waved a finger. "Ah…that won't do. Nope not at all. Well then," She brushed her dress. "I guess you'll _die _first." She spread her arms out, palm down and snickered. Suddenly a scythe materialized itself out of the ground. The weapon was fully identifiable when they saw the brass rings hanging from the blade of the scythe.

Lucy gasped at the weapon. _'The Grave Lullaby! When did she get that!?' _ "Erza! The Scythe!"

Erza nodded. The weapon was in the enemy's hands. It was never in its bodily form. Taking Olette's threat as a cue, Erza lunged, creating a crater where the girl had once stood. Fighting in such little light made it difficult to see. She spun her head around looking for the girl.

"Wow! Erza Scarlet I presume..? Your armor is magnifique!" Erza heard the girl's voice echo through the graveyard. Seeing a shadow dash by, Erza attacked again; another crater had destroyed several tombstones, and uncovered a few graves.

"I must wonder though..how long can you last?" Olette giggled. Another shadow, and another crater. "Let's play with bones then my dear Erza!" The armored mage was not interested in playing games.

"Bring it bitch." Erza taunted. She had to make sure that book didn't leave Lucy's hands. Whatever they needed it for, couldn't be good.

"_Heh….Rise!_" Olette's voice shattered the silence. Erza felt the girl's magic seep into the soil beneath their feet.

Suddenly the ground beneath the girls started vibrating. Rocks started tumbling, and the earth began to crumble. Cero whinnied, rising to his back hooves. Lucy fell off the unicorn immediately. "Ngh!"

"Lucy! You okay?" Happy questioned, grabbing the back of the girl's collar, lifting her up into the air.

"Y-yea I'm fine." She nodded to Happy. He fluttered higher into the air and found a place to put her down; on top of a mausoleum. He landed beside her. "We'll be safe up here Aye?" Happy questioned.

She nodded. Pulling out Cero's key she turned it. "Dismiss Monoceros!" The light had quickly gone out. The ground still vibrated; the mausoleum was shaking slightly. Looking below, she paled. The dirt was _rising_. She didn't need light to see that. "W-what the hell is this?"

The ground rose, and from beneath the dirt, wooden boxes had uncovered themselves. Looking closer at the boxes, Lucy's eyes widened. "Those are…"

* * *

"…coffins. Fuck." Loki looked around him. Multitudes of coffins were rising from the ground. Whatever was going to come out of those things were obviously not friends. Glancing up to see a silhouette of Lucy on top of a structure, he calmed slightly. He didn't have to guard her for now, she was safe up there. "Lucy, please stay up there." He mumbled to himself.

Erza stopped creating craters in the ground, staring at what was coming out of it. Seeing the coffins, she tensed. She knew what kind of magic this was. "You're a puppetter." She stated to Olette. Although Erza couldn't see her, she knew Olette was around here somewhere; holding The Grave Lullaby.

"Hee! Right you are dear Erza…and my babies want to play…." Magic once again flowed through the soil.

The coffins had begun to shake. Groans and growling came from the boxes that surrounded Loki and Erza. Hands began to protrude from the sides of the wooden caskets.

"Erza!" Loki yelled to the girl nearby. She had already begun hacking at the opening caskets, trying to get rid of whatever was inside. The beings in them instead were coming out faster, missing limbs and all. "Where's Natsu when we need him?!"

* * *

The two other mages were having their own little issues on their side of the cemetery: they hadn't found _anything_. Turning to see if the girls were still fine, they noticed the light that once shined had dimmed, and then disappeared entirely. Grey and Natsu went on guard. Keeping their light they had pressed forward, not knowing what was going on with the girls on the other side.

Suddenly they heard an explosion. Turning around, through the dark, they could see dust clouds forming. "Erza." They both thought out loud.

"So…I see Olette is already having fun."

The two boys spun to see a man lying against a tombstone. In his had he wielded a bloody dagger. Several cuts ran down his arm and from them blood poured out effortlessly. The man tilted his head to the duo. He smiled lightly, as if he had no care in the world despite the blood pouring from his wounds.

"What the-?" Grey flinched. Why in the world was a person killing himself in the cemetery? Who the hell was Olette? Many questions ran through the ice alchemist's mind as he stared at the bloody man before them. He squinted at a symbol that etched itself into the neck of the man. His stare harded.

"Y-yo…are you okay?" Natsu questioned. The guy seriously needed help if he was in a situation like that. He went forward to go check on the bloodied man. Grey held him back. "Grey, he needs our help!"

Gray shook his head. "No he doesn't." He glared at the man. He understood what the man had said previously about some person named 'Olette'. The tattoo that was on the man's neck further enforced his theories. "You're from Grimorie." Natsu gave a questioning look.

The man chuckled. Slowly he lifted himself up off the rocks. It seemed the blood, which stained his clothing, wasn't bothering him in the slightest. The Fairy Tail mages stepped back. The person before them was a total freak!

"Ah…can't handle a little blood huh?" The guy smirked. He let out a breath, before bowing to the Natsu and Grey. "Well then, my name is Werd Remmington." He stated, rising from the bow. Werd's eyes glimmered in the light of the flames.

"Along with my sister, we are Team Nosferatu…Grimorie Heart sends its greetings to Layla's daughter and _friends_."

* * *

Ch. 5~Fin

**A/N**: This chapter had gone through so much editing after several scenes had no sense what-so-ever when they were written into the chapter. I mean seriously, a confession in a creepy little village next to a graveyard. Awkward and creepy. So, it got cut. (Doesn't mean it won't appear folks! I just need some good placement....)

Just a little tad bit of information about The Grave Lullaby here: Its bodily form is that of a spectre. Its ability, and the ability of The Sweet Lullaby, will be mentioned further on.

And thank you **Misty Mina** and **Gnatella** for your kind words :)

Now to wrap up this short little note; **_PLEASE REVIEW_**. I would love it to hear from people reading this piece. Criticism is greatly appreciated. I do want to develop further in my writing and be more confident that I am making my readers happy. So reviews are a sight to see.

-Demi


	6. 1:6:Sleep my Prince

DISCLAIMER: I seriously don't own Fairy Tail or its characters. My OC's are mine however.

* * *

Ch 6: Sleep my Prince

'_Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince;  
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.' ~Horatio_

* * *

Grey and Natsu dodged another oncoming wave of red. The mage before them used his magic to mold his blood.

Blood alchemy was a strange form of magic, as it caused the user to drain oneself of his or her own blood ultimately killing that person. A type of magic meant for the suicidal. However, the weapon Werd held had changed the rules of his alchemy.

The Bloody Lullaby was in his hands; a hypnotizing red blade that attached itself to a wooden handle. It looked, as the blade itself was crystal. The trademark brass rings of the lullaby weapons dangled from the deadly weapon. It drew blood from anyone, using the wind magic contained in its small form.

Werd swiped nothing once more with the red blade. Its brass rings hit each other, making little chiming noises as they swept through the air. Air gusts blew from the blade, pushing back the two Fairy Tail mages, leaving bleeding scratches on their cheeks and arms.

Grey touched his cheek. He saw red as he glanced down at his fingertips. The man didn't even touch him and yet he was able to leave scratches? "How is he doing that?" Gray mumbled to himself. He wished he had taken a glance at the book Lucy had in her hands. For all he knew the thing in that guy's hands was what they were searching for.

Natsu who had somehow fallen from the gusts, was grinning. Lifting himself off the red dirt, he brushed himself off, ignoring the slight scratches along his body. He then pointed his finger towards the brown haired mage. "I don't really care where you're from you bloody bastard, but I'm brining you down!" Natsu roared, dashing towards the dagger-wielding alchemist. Flames then erupted from Salamanders' mouth, speeding towards Werd as well.

He quickly brushed it off the fire with a large wave of red. It sizzled into steam and dried crust, thickening the air with the smell of metal. "Che. Don't be hasty you fool." Werd scoffed as he back-flipped to dodge the pink haired projectile. Landing on the top of a tombstone, he brought the dagger to his chest before swiping towards Natsu.

Natsu slid against the ground once more; blasted away once again with longer streaks of red adorning his body. Natsu hissed in pain.

"I told you not to be rash. Your friend seems to get the idea."

Natsu gave Gray a quick look. He realized Grey hadn't done anything yet. "What the hell are you just standing there for?"

The ice alchemist stared at the blood mage, specifically at his weapon of choice. Attacking the enemy without knowledge of what they could do was pure stupidity. Something in his opinion Natsu seemed to do quite often. He wanted to know more about the man before him, especially what he could do. Werd's magic after all, was similar to his own. However, something was off. That dagger made it look so.

An alchemist didn't need a weapon; the magic they wielded created their weapons. "Why do you have _that_?" Grey yelled towards the blood mage, gesturing to the dagger.

Werd raised the dagger. "This?" He raised an eyebrow at the two mages. The looks they gave him were of confusion. "You don't know what _this_ is?" The looks hadn't changed. He snickered. "Well then, pry it from me to find out...If you can that is." Spilled blood rose from the ground, encircling the mage.

Grey contemplated the idea. Getting into a position, he brought his hands together.

"Ice make: Hammer!"

The ice hammer immediately molded itself into Grey's hands. Gripping the weapon tightly he then gave a slight notion to Natsu. "Let's do this." The ice mage then dashed towards Werd, preparing to strike him down.

Natsu grinned. "Finally!" Fire engulfed the mage's hands as he followed Grey. There was no way he was going to be left behind in the fun! "Let's see what you can do, pretty boy!"

* * *

"Why-won't-they-stay -DEAD?!" Loki roared as he slashed another zombie with his magic. This barrage of undead was ridiculous! Every time he would slice one up, another would come around.

Erza brought out her Heaven's Wheel armor, its blades mowed down the zombies around her and Loki. She breathed heavily. She couldn't count how many times she had to do that, and yet they still wouldn't stop. The zombies were relentless in their pursuit for whatever they wanted. Slashing at one, which aimed for her back, gave her time to take a quick look at her surroundings. From what she could see: the hellish beasts surrounded them and yet no sign of their puppet master was in sight. "Loki, can you see that girl?!" She yelled over the groaning and moaning of the beasts.

"No!" He yelled back, throwing a zombie against a tombstone, smashing both the object and zombie into pieces. He turned to check on Lucy, as she was quiet as of late. His heart sunk.

Her shadow upon the top of the mausoleum was gone.

Happy's was missing as well.

"Erza! Lucy's gone!" He decapitated another zombie before heading towards the Mausoleum.

Thoughts raced through his head; concern being the strongest. Even though it was his duty to protect his master, this was more than just a simple act of chivalry. Lucy was a magnet for trouble and Loki understood that entirely. For other women, he would just simply get them on their feet and let them be. Lucy however was an exception to that issue.

She was everything to him.

Seeing the strawberry blonde run towards where Happy and Lucy had been, Erza followed. She hacked away one last zombie while annoyance took root in the armored mage's mind. All these dead bodies were just distraction for the Fairy Tail mages and seemed to be a show for the puppeteer. The girl that was controlling these coffin-dwellers hadn't even tried to kill them yet, and it would've been best when they were distracted.

Erza cursed, her pace quickened as they sped in the direction of the mausoleum. How did she not remember that the girl's goal was Lucy and her book?!

* * *

Lucy ducked as metal swiped over her head. She saw a few strands of her hair float to the ground. She couldn't help but recall how she led up to this event:

_Lucy had been watching the mass of zombies on top of the mausoleum. They scratched at the stone piece of architecture, trying to grab the stellar mage on top. Feeling a bit overconfident, she taunted the beings below her. _

"_Now now, don't be calling my children bad names….Lady Heartfilia." _

_Turning to the voice, she saw the same woman who had confronted her along with Loki and Erza. The Grave Lullaby fit comfortably in her hands; its steel blade adorned with the skulls and feathers of birds. Lucy wondered if there was some issue with skulls and feathers in the mind of the creator of the Lullaby weapons. They seemed to be some sort of theme with these demonic tools._

_Lucy growled. "Why do want this book?!"She stepped back, trying to keep some space between her and that deadly blade of Olette's._

_Olette tapped her chin. She grinned widely. "We wish to retrieve the rest of the lullabies. They are the keys to revive the dark lord Zeref. Your book leads the way to all the keys. So, be a good girl and give us the book!"_

_Lucy's eyes widened. They wanted to revive Zeref? There was no way she was going to allow that! She remembered the damage that mage caused even when he wasn't physically at the scene. The effect of his followers alone caused chaos. Imaging what he could do himself…she shivered. _

_Feeling the book under her fingers, she quickly handed it to Happy. He seemed surprised to be receiving it. "Get it out of here." She demanded to the blue cat._

"_L-lucy?" _

"_Go!" She exclaimed, nudging the feline into the air. Happy took flight, heading to the opposite side of the cemetery, where Natsu and Grey were searching. Concern was evident on Happy's face for leaving the blonde haired mage._

_The puppeteer dashed for the airborne cat, her scythe raised and ready to strike, only to be blocked by a bow in the hands of Lucy. Olette smiled at the weapon. "Ah! Just my luck! The Sweet Lullaby! Well then, I'll kill you and take that bow off your hands!" The blade in her hands fell into an arc, aimed for the blond haired mage._

_Lucy barely dodged the weapon before crashing to the ground below. _

Now she was running, Sweet Lullaby in hand, away from the crazed girl who wished to slice her pieces. Lucy heard the noise emitted from the scythe as it attempted to chop her head off. She knew it was to affect her some way, but it didn't affect her mind or body. Being a wielder of a lullaby, Lucy found herself protected from the effects of other lullabies.

'How the heck am I supposed to get out of this one?' Lucy thought as she weaved through tombstones and shrubbery. At least she got Olette to ignore the book for now, the lullaby in her hands seemed more important to her pursuer.

There were few options in the direction of running. It was either head for Erza and Loki, find Grey and Natsu or run farther into the cemetery; where Olette's magic had not influenced the dead. She went with the latter. It was only a matter of time however, before she ran into the metal fence blocking off the cemetery lands.

Deciding that it wasn't worth wasting all her energy heading to a dead end, she hastily slid herself behind a statue. Breathing heavily, she peeked over it to see if Olette had caught up.

Olette had several of her minions trailing her. From what she could see, the zombies were huddled together behind their leader. Their grunting and groaning was getting louder and louder.

The hiding mage panted. She needed to even the numbers a bit. Feeling the cold metal of her keys beneath her fingers, she decided that they weren't an option at that moment. The sound effects that came along with summoning a stellar spirit would draw Olette and her puppets attention, something she didn't need at that time.

The bow in her other hand, was a mystery to her. She lacked arrows and she had no idea what the bow's magic caused. Her thoughts went to Makarov's warning about the lullaby. Deciding it was the right time to find out whatever the bow could do, she adjusted the bow in her hands.

An arrow made of magic appeared between the wood of the bow and the string. A transparent set of bangles were visible on the shaft of the arrow. Lucy's eyes widened in fascination. She then let out a sigh. It was now or never. Lifting herself out of her hiding place, she aimed the best she could at the puppeteer mage and let go.

Olette saw a flash of yellow appear to her side. She turned to the sight of the blonde mage. With a gleam in her eyes, she rushed the blond mage with her minions in tow. Her approach halted after seeing a blue arrow coming towards her. Olette leaped aside, letting it pass. The arrow brushed lightly against her hair as it flew by.

Missing its intended target, the arrow instead hit one of Olette's puppets in the neck. The zombie gurgled in response to the item lodged in its throat.

Quickly as it came, the arrow dissipated. The clanging sounds of the bangles resonated as the arrow faded away. The other zombies that surrounded the injured one succumbed to the sound; they fell to the ground in peaceful slumber. Olette fumed at the fallen beasts. She kicked one of the puppets in anger, wanting it to come back up and attack.

It wouldn't rise.

Lucy's eyes widened at the sudden drop of zombies. Shaking herself out of a stupor, she launched a few more arrows towards the frustrated mage. Many missed, due to her lack of experience with the weapon and her target dodging a few of them. One blue projectile did skim Olette's arm, slicing into her dress and leaving a red streak upon her skin.

Olette gave a quick look at the scratch that adorned her flesh. She furrowed her brow. The scratch ruined her dress. The injury itself didn't really concern her. Glancing up at Lucy, she quickly mumbled something under her breath.

A hand thrust out of the ground, grabbing at the blonde-haired mage.

Shocked at the touch, she stumbled and fell to the ground. Her bow clattered against rock and dirt. More arms and limbs grew out of the dirt and grabbed onto Lucy, pinning her down to the ground. She struggled fiercely against the decaying arms holding her against the earth. During her struggling, Olette had closed the gap between them.

Olette flicked at her scythe before glaring down the girl beneath her.

"I had enough of your running."

* * *

Upturned rocks and tombstones littered their battlefield. Streaks of red here and there lined the dirt and the people who stepped upon it. The grave keeper would be furious at the sight if he ever appeared.

Werd panted, he could feel the affect of his magic affecting him. His vision was blurring and his limbs felt heavy as brick. The two before him had worn him out. He had to hand it to the duo; the looks they gave off, as rivals, made it seem much easier to take them down. He clenched his fists, remembering that the weapon in his hand still gave him a shot.

He grimaced at the blade. He knew his role in this play he called life. His other casting call as a Grimoire Heart member would end then and there. He sighed at the thought that came to his mind.

Urtear would be upset at the unraveling of this event. However it was not her choice. It was his life not hers. His sister's thoughts on the idea that plagued his mind didn't matter to him. He could care less about that brat of a girl.

Werd flipped the blade, aiming it for his own chest. He gave the mages at his sides a quick gesture before attempting to stab himself.

A stronger spell would call for his death. Something he would gladly give up.

The two Fairy Tail mages reacted at the shift of his blade. Even though this man was an enemy, taking one's life was not the way to go out. Grey summoned his ice cannon and launched it at Werd, attempting to knock him out. Natsu with the same idea, belched a stream of fire. A cloud of smoke erupted between the two of them. Had they done it?

They then saw a gleam of red fly in the air; the dagger had fallen out of Werd's hands.

The mage they had tried to stop also lived.

He stood further away from the two. His hand cradled the wound in his chest. Even though they had prevented his total death, he was bleeding from the wound. His time began ticking away.

Grey and Natsu ran for the man once more, aiming to tackle him down.

He raised both of his hands, forgetting about the fallen dagger. The blood from his would rose into the air, launching towards the two Fairy Tail mages. It ringed itself around the two mages, engulfing each one into something like a bubble as each one struggled.

The struggling stopped and the mages had disappeared in a sea of red. Werd stood his ground to keep the capsules in the air. He wobbled a bit as a wave of dizziness took him. Gaining his balance once more, he looked to the floating orbs.

His lip curled at the idea of bringing down at least two of these faeries before going to his death bed. Maybe their deaths would be retribution for the failure of retrieving the book that wasn't on the bodies of these magi.

He frowned slightly as he saw one of them crystallize into blood red ice and shatter into red snow. The other one burned away, crumbing into ash and dust. His attempt at drowning them had failed. The thought of being disappointed was far from his mind.

His sands of time were pouring out of him. Seeing, as it was a last stand, he raised his hands once more.

Natsu ran forward immediately, finally getting a hit on the weary blood mage.

Werd crashed into a tree from the force. His legs felt numb and his vision flickered slightly. He scoffed at the fact he was taken down by a mere punch after guarding against their attacks previously. How the mighty have fallen!

"….Meh. Damn faeries…" He murmured, disoriented. He felt himself being lifted by the collar. The pink haired mage came into his sight. Natsu glared back at Werd, his eyes like embers. He was furious.

Natsu growled. "Why the hell did you attack us?!" He shook the mage who was limp in his hands.

Werd could only chuckle. He seemed to be humored by the angry mage before him.

"You…you are all p-predicable." He weezed. He hacked as Natsu shook him once more.

A line appeared between Grey's brows as he rubbed a gash on his forearm. They weren't going to get anything out of him if Natsu kept shaking him like that. He placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder to stop.

Reluctantly, Natsu did stop, but his hand on Werd's collar remained.

"Expected of the apprentice of Ur…." Werd murmured.

"Now what's that supposed to mean?" Gray questioned. "How do you know Ur?"

"I don't..she....weak in my book. But her daughter of course…she-she knows of you."

"Bullshit!" Natsu shook the man once more. Werd coughed up some blood.

"Natsu, stop damn it!" Grey shoved the pink haired mage away from the bleeding captive. Natsu's grip fell from Werd's collar, resulting in the blood mage falling back against the tree.

"Hn…you men sure are barbarians…" He chuckled weakly. "Urtear was right…" His eyelids felt heavy. His vision began to tunnel.

"Who's Urtear?" Grey stressed, crouching down to eye level with the dying mage. "Tell me!"

There was no response. The man before him had lost all light in his eyes.

"He's gone Grey." Natsu commented from aside. His eyes glanced away from the lifeless body. He refused to look at it.

Grey turned his head. He had a chance to find out more about Ur and as quickly as that door opened, it shut in his face. How the heck did she become involved in this issue anyway? Sighing, he stood back up and gave a look around. "What a mess."

"Aye!"

"Happy?!" Natsu exclaimed. The blue cat fluttered in, landing on the head of his pink haired mage.

"You seem heavier Happy, did you gain weight?" Natsu questioned to the cat upon his head. Pain from his wounds faded slightly. Adrenaline was kicking in.

Happy denied that. He instead raised the book that Lucy gave him. Natsu 'oohed' at the book being the culprit.

"Hey that's the book Lucy carries around. Where'd you get that?" Grey wondered, flexing his arm. It was slightly stiff.

Happy immediately started flailing around. "Lucy! Lucy needs are help! She's being chased by some weird lady with a scythe!" He fluttered around Natsu shortly before his wings disappeared. It seemed he had flown too much for one day. Falling like a weight, he landed in a puddle of red.

"Ew!" He grimaced. Getting himself up, he noticed the slack figure leaning against a tree.

"**He is dead….." **a voice called.

The two mages and cat searched for the location of the being. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary despite the destruction around them.

"**He is dead….no more blood? No more blood for me?"**The voice seemed to get louder and more upset.

"W-who is that?" Happy shook his head spun to find the owner of the voice. Natsu's eyes landed on the vibrating dagger which they saw fall out of Werd's hands.

"It's shaking!"

"**I need blood…yes. Blood for me…give it to me…give…give..GIVE.."**The blade suddenly formed itself into a cloud of smoke. It took the form of some serpentine creature.

A large female with long claw-like fingers emerged from the clouds. Her backside consisted of a long snake tail with a red tip similar to the blade of the dagger. It hissed fiercely, glaring down the three before it.

"What is that?!" Natsu pointed to the large creature in wonder.

"How the hell should I know?!" Grey responded. Unlike the person next to him, he was afraid of the thing that stood taller than them.

Happy stood frozen in fear at the sight. His paws clutched the book Lucy had given him. It had a few blood patches on it.

The being, which looked similar to a Lamia, glanced at the blood soaked cat. It grinned, its sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight. The smell that came of the feline was inviting to the beast. Her fingers pointed to the little cat.

"**You feline...You shall become my first meal!" ** It darted towards the three, aiming to grab Happy and put him in her mouth, fur and all.

"RUN!" Natsu yelled, swooping up Happy. He and Grey ran from the large snake creature further into the cemetery. Unbeknown to them, they were running straight towards Lucy.

* * *

"Your lullaby is useless to me." Olette stated. Her desire for the weapon when her hunt began had ebbed away. Its magic was so benign to her. "Sleep? That's it? Expected it would fit in the hands of a faerie." She mocked. She then took time to circle the mage, spinning her blade lazily.

Lucy paled, there was no way out of this situation. She wished Loki and Erza got here soon. She took slight glances to her side hoping to see the red haired knight or her lion spirit.

Olette chucked at the panicking girl before her. She took Lucy's chin into her hand, grasping it tightly. "Aww…you pretty little fairy girl. Don't worry! You won't die yet…I still want to pluck your wings!" Curling her lip, she let go of the blonde girl and began leaving gashes on the skin of her legs and arms.

Lucy held tight, shutting her eyes to the slight pain she felt after each scratch. Feeling one cut deeper than the others, she couldn't help but scream in agony.

Olette sniggered, raising the scythe higher. She was aiming for a better target, the unmarred neck of the girl before her.

"Kya! The little faerie sings! Time to-"

"_Lucy shut your eyes!"_

Lucy obeyed the voice, knowing whom it had belonged to.

A bright light blasted through the area, blinding Lucy's tormentor. She screeched at the sudden flash of white. Olette then felt something heavy hit her torso, pushing her onto the ground. A sharp spike of pain rushed to her head. Olette had blacked out.

Lucy who had shut her eyes at the right time, reopened them. She felt fingers graze upon her arms. Loki was in her sight looking sadly at the scratches upon her limbs. The ones upon her legs seemed more damaging compared to the ones on her arms. "L-loki."

He put a finger to his lips.

Lucy stayed silent.

"We got to get these bandaged. Can you get up?"

She shook her head. She was still caught by the hands that grew out of the ground.

"Hold on." Loki went to Erza, gesturing to the objects that were holding Lucy down. Switching places with the lion spirit, Erza came to check on Lucy. She pulled out her saber once more and sliced the appendages, they fell to the ground. Without any magic flowing through them, they stayed motionless.

"Lucy, you okay?"

She nodded hesitantly.

Erza lifted the girl up. Noticing Lucy wince, her eyes immediately went to gaze at her form. Scratches of all kinds cut into her skin. Her anger with the puppeteer mage had increased tenfold.

"Loki ! That-" Erza started before a roar interrupted her sentence.

Loki looked up, from what he could see there was a huge shadow coming this way, along with two smaller figures running away from it.

"Natsu and Grey?" He questioned as the group came closer.

Feeling himself being dragged up Loki followed suit and ran with them. "What the hell guys?!" He had the girl who injured Lucy in his hands. Now she was left there blinded and still in possession of the damn lullaby they came there for!

"No time! RUN!" Natsu panted.

"Lucy! Erza! Monster!" Happy yelled to the girls as they sped closer to them.

"..Happy?" Lucy questioned. The cat was covered in red, what happened? Before anyone could answer her question, Erza picked up Lucy's bow and lifted the girl onto her back.

She ran following the others, away from the huge beast that trailed them.

"We need space! We can't fight it with all these things around here blocking our way!" Erza yelled to the boys ahead of her.

"The town!" Grey pointed ahead.

They dashed through the gate. The snake-female behind them bashed through it, destroying the fence that surrounded the cemetery. The cemetery itself looked demolished from previous occurrences.

The group stopped as they reached the middle of the town. The beast was coming closer, destroying buildings in its wake.

Reliving herself from Erza's back, Lucy stood up, her legs slightly wobbling. Loki went over to support her.

"Lucy get Cero or Virgo to get you out of here." He demanded, although he knew he had no power over her, he wished for once she would listen and hide. Her injuries were already hindering her ability to stand up straight.

She shook her head. She pulled out two keys.

_Sagittarius_

"Hello, Hello, Hello!" The horse-man greeted to the mage.

_Aries_

"L-lucy? Why did y-you call me?" The ram questioned, twisting her cotton dress under her fingers. Glancing around herself, she realized why. She nodded at Loki and Sagittarius in greeting.

Loki eyes widened at what Lucy intended to do. "That spell Lucy?"

The mage nodded.

The others who looked on at the mass of spirits were not questioning the sight. Their concern was the beast before them. The huge snake creature had arrived.

Erza led the attack, lashing her sword at the torso of the beast.

The monster careened at the sudden hit.

The pink haired mage quickly followed Erza launching upward to the head of the beast, landing an uppercut. It stumbled back, crashing into a building.

"Ice Make: Geyser!" Grey yelled, summoning a blast of ice shards that ran toward large monster. The beast screeched as it swiped a few of them away.

"**Damn you all! I will savor your bones and blood you mortals!" **

Opening its mouth, it had let out a blast of sharp pinions. Grey summoned a shield to guard against the blast. He flinched as he felt the monster's blow push the shield and him back.

The clanging of swords and the sound of explosions echoed through the air, as the trio barraged the monster with their attacks.

Lucy and Happy, who watched in awe at the sight before them, recalled the event they had last fought a lullaby in Clover. The three before them deserved the name as Fairy Tail's strongest team. The viewers ducked however, when a few pinions had strayed over their way.

"Happy…do you have my book?" Lucy asked in haste. She wished to join the rumble; a simple spell in its pages would satisfy her desire to help.

The cat nodded, raising it up. "Sorry..it's a bit dirty." He rubbed his head as Lucy took it into her hands.

"Uh….that's okay I guess." She rubbed the cover of the blood that smeared it. Lucy then turned to a page that held the Elemental Spirit Spells.

The spells brought out the elemental sign associated with each of the spirits. In a set of three, they were able to use that element and form it into an attack. Only having the trio for fire, she immediately placed her finger at the beginning of the spell called Ifrit's Roar.

"We have to end this!" Grey yelled to the group. Natsu and Erza nodded, charging their attacks for a final blow.

"You guys ready?" She yelled towards her spirits, who had joined the fray. Seeing them nod, she began the spell.

"_Ifrit the fire demon…"_

Her spirits began to glow red and their forms began to distort into animals. A centaur, a ram and a lion had stood in their places.

"…_Light the sky with your flames, oh winged djinn of fire…We call upon thee of the spirits of the archer, lion and ram.….."_

Grey, Natsu and Erza prepared to strike.

"_BURN."_

With the final word of the spell, the spirits ignited into forms of fire. The fire-spirits sped towards their target.

Their forms were quickly accompanied by the three other mages who had launched their own attacks.

With a large blast and a brilliant light, the mages and magic hit the beast, sending a blast of wind away from the site of impact.

Lucy and Happy slid back from the backlash of air and dirt.

"What was that?!?" Happy gaped at the large display of magic before him. All those attacks combined had totally obliterated the village behind the beast. The bodily form of the Lamia had disappeared in the cloud of smoke that blew away from the rubble and destroyed buildings.

Lucy squinted at the site of the smoke; a smile came to her face as she saw Grey, Natsu and Erza walk out of the clouds, barely harmed.

"W-we did it right?" Aries called from the top of a pile of rubble. Her dress collected soot. She looked more like a black sheep than a white ram. She then fell over as Sagittarius popped out of the rubble beneath her. Loki followed the horse spirit, pulling himself out of the hole.

Finally out, he sat upon the rocks.

The three spirits looked to their master. Lucy rested upon the ground, smiling at disappearance of the monster. Seeing the three spirits look at her, she returned the look with appreciation.

"Thanks guys...for everything." She nodded, extremely grateful for their help. "You can go if you want."

With that suggestion, Sagittarius and Aries waved goodbye and returned to the spirit world. Loki stayed, still looking at the stellar mage. He gestured to her legs, asking if she was fine.

Lucy nodded again. She mouthed something that looked like 'don't worry.'

Loki gave her a look of uncertainty before sighing. With a faint smile, he too disappeared in a cloud of smoke, returning to the spirit realm.

"WOW! That was awesome!" Natsu waved his arms. "I haven't done anything like this in a while Luce! Thank god your back!" He tackled the girl, babbling on about what other things they could do.

"Natsu get off me! You smell like blood!"

"Aw Luce…but you don't smell that nice either."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Lucy bashed the pink haired mage in the head with her book. She flinched at the pain she felt as she moved slightly to hit the mage.

"OW!"

Grey was searching the rubble for the object that the beast should have shifted back into. He saw the beast form from the weapon so he wished to show it to the girls. His hands sifted through the debris until he finally found the dagger. It was unmarred.

"Hey Erza!" He waved to the red haired mage. She was telling Natsu to leave Lucy alone due to her injuries.

The girl turned to the sudden call of her name.

Grey lifted the dagger. "That monster was this thing! It's just like what happened in Clover!" He maneuvered his way out of the rubble to give the blade to Erza.

Once it fell into Erza's hands, she gave it a quick look before asking Lucy a question about it possibly being what they were looking for.

Seeing the bangles upon the blade, Lucy nodded at Erza's idea. It was a lullaby; Not the one they were searching for, but it was one nonetheless.

"So that thing was the huge snake lady?" Natsu asked, pointing to the innocent blade before him.

"Yeah and there are 4 more of those.." Lucy responded. Her eyes widened as she remembered Olette's weapon. They had to go retrieve it! She tried lifting herself off the ground but, as she reached a certain point, her legs failed her.

"Lucy can't get up." Happy pointed out.

"Erza! The scythe!?" Lucy questioned from her sitting position.

Erza lifted the girl, letting her lean on her shoulder. "We had to leave it. Either way that girl still has it. We'll find her again. Mark my words."

The group moved away from the disaster site, deciding to return to the Guild. The info that Grimorie Heart is now involved was an issue. Along with the mess they had caused, their trip could not continue unless their guild leader was informed.

Natsu groaned at the oncoming travel. He continued to complain about the train, trying to get the group to find a way to get to the guild without him getting sick.

His pleas fell on deaf ears.

* * *

Olette groaned from her pulsating temples. It felt like something hard knocked her on the head. Her eyes also felt sore from the previous blast of light. She felt the ground for her scythe dragging her hands back and forth along the ground until she felt the gnarled wood of the staff. She blinked to clear her vision of the white spots that appeared now and then. Seeing the dismembered limbs from the trap she had set upon Lucy, she cursed. The fairies had gotten away!

A shadow phased into existence behind Olette. It formed into child.

"Omlette."

The puppeteer mage turned to the girl. She hissed at the name. "Do not call me that Lili."

The girl named Lili stood staring at the puppeteer mage. Her short white hair fluttered in the breeze as it blew through the now destroyed cemetery. Her eyes shifted to a sudden explosion in the town. She pointed in wonder at the huge fireball and clouds of smoke that appeared in the distance.

"Bye bye Lullaby! Urtear will be angry at you Omlette."

"What are you talking about you stupid girl? My weapon is right here!" She knew what the girl was talking about, but she wasn't making any sense. Her weapon was right here next to her. Her lullaby hadn't disappeared.

"Where is Werd?" Lili's head tilted in confusion, ignoring the girl's question and substituting it with her own.

Olette scoffed. Out of all names, the girl could pronounce correctly it was her brother's name. Her eyes widened in realization. That explosion was from Werd's lullaby.

"Where is he Lili?!" Olette's hands grasping the girl's little shoulders.

"Is he sleeping?" Lili pointed towards another direction. "Werd sleeps with his eyes open. How funny."

"He is not... No- no you...you girl! Don't tell me he is sleeping! YOU LIE!"

A slap rang through the air.

A red mark appeared upon the small girl's face. Her head was turned aside, stiff from the hit. Lili eyes stared blankly at the ground. Her mouth began to move.

"Why do you not face the truth? Your brother is dead. His lullaby was stolen. The _key _was stolen. I am here to take you back. Urtear does not care for your failure of a brother. If you wish to be with him, I can gladly grant your wish." Lili spoke, her tone icy and sharp.

Olette flinched at the sudden coldness from the small girl before her. Scoffing she turned away, facing the explosion. Her eyes filled with tears.

"They will all die….yes…they'll perish by my hands….I'll kill them…"

Her figure shook, her hands wrapped around her. Her mind screamed at the pain she felt in the pit of her stomach. Her brother had perished by the hands of these faeries. They further ruined him by stealing his weapon! Her mind screamed for vengeance! Her thoughts went to the image of that blonde haired mage she had once in her grasp. Hysterical giggles erupted from her mouth.

"I'll kill her first…that little blonde fairy…."

Lili who looked on at the girl before her, tilted her head again. "We will wait! We must go Omlette!" She cried. The icy tone that the girl once held had disappeared. It was if she had never spoken such words in the first place. Grabbing the hem of the dress Olette wore, the duo disappeared into the shadows.

Hysterical laughter still lingered in the air.

* * *

Ch. 6~ Fin.

A/N: Hm. Not much to say here. Some strange relationship Werd and Olette have however...Oh well. Leave your questions and comments in a review!


	7. 1:7:Inverted Darkness

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail, or any of its characters. However, my OC's belong to me.

* * *

Ch 7: Inverted Darkness

* * *

Lucy dangled her feet from a balcony as a breeze blew through her now clean hair. It had taken her several showers and a bottle of body wash to get rid of the grime, dirt and blood that had covered her hair and body.

Today was just pure peace. Away from the craziness that always seemed to follow her around.

Hearing the hustle and bustle of Magnolia was something she never took time to enjoy. Her eyes darted down at the people walking past the guild.

Now and then, one of them would point in interest at the large building and smile before going on their merry way.

Lucy sighed at the sight. She wondered how the people would react to the actions mages do in the building. They would see the insanity and chaos that occurs every day in the mess hall downstairs.

Maybe they would be amused?

Lucy scoffed at the thought.

Glancing down to her legs, she stared at the bandages that encased them. The injuries weren't that bad on her legs, one or two of them were deep but not deadly. If her friends had the chance, they would've wrapped her whole body in bandages.

Lucy shrugged. At least they didn't. Mirajane had done them for her despite Erza's wish to do them herself.

Walking into the guild with the disgusting grime upon them was a priceless moment. The faces of horror and shock were strange yet intriguing.

She recalled a comment towards Natsu, Grey and Happy about them covered in red. Whoever had said that ended up getting a face full of red fur, courtesy of Grey Fullbuster. Grey had thrown Happy into the face of their commentator, which resulted in another fight with Natsu to break out in the middle of the mess hall.

Erza took care of it pretty quickly.

The village that they had traversed through now was more associated to bomb testing facility instead of a 'town of endless sleep'. Lucy wished to forget it happened, as it was an unhappy memory for the blonde mage. Being captured in the way she had thrown her off balance, literally.

The girl that caught her had freaked the hell out of her. Her skill with the scythe topped her own experience with her bow. She must've used it for quite some time. Lucy had no idea how she'd react if she encountered Olette Remmington again.

Leaning against the bars her legs threaded through, Lucy's mind wandered. She hadn't done much that day execpt being caught and put in a trap consisting of dead hands and fingers. The training she had done during her mission hadn't helped her in the slightest. She understood the fact that the situation was rather, strange to say the least but still.

Was she to always going to be the one protected?

She immediately shook herself out of those thoughts. Those three years were totally worth it! She had gained some confidence in her skills as a mage. She also had the time to understand her spirits more, well some more than others:

Aquarius still hated her, and still expected her to get a boyfriend.

Scorpio actually agreed with the water bearer every time the issue of the man in Lucy's life came up. He however was less scathing about it. Other issues they debated would play out, before the whole issue was dropped in the form of a heavy make-out session. Seeing them do this often in the past, she hadn't summoned the duo in quite some time.

The image burned her eyes.

Aries the ram spirit was a cute little thing. Lucy always had a smile on her face when Aries came around. Her kindness and her sweet persona always had made her days brighter during those three years. The ram spirit was still a sight to see.

Gemi and Mini knew when to push her buttons and much like Loki, they had found a way to appear randomly and help in their own special way. Most of the time they loved to transform into her and read her deepest thoughts. She assumed they knew of her love interest with the lion spirit.

The image of that said spirit came to her mind. Lucy's lips fell into a frown.

Loki was a whole issue entirely. His flirtatious attitude was always a problem during the three years they went on escapades with each other. His constant flirting with other girls always got them run out of towns or caught in the middle of bar fights.

Her hands tightened around the railings. Lucy couldn't help but feel jealous when the lion spirit would give his attention to every other female that looked his way.

Every girl he smiled or winked at would swoon at the sight. Lucy knew that first hand. She had fallen for his charms as well; heck, she was head over heels.

Yet, her mouth would dry like sand when she tried to say something about it.

The blonde mage clenched her eyes shut.

Her admiration for the lion spirit had never waned since they had become partners. She laughed at his crazy antics and liked his desire to appear at the strangest times. His attitude had even changed into that of a gentleman's as the years had progressed. He grew into the epitome of a prince in every story her mother told her.

She however, didn't want to be the damsel in distress in those fairy tales.

Makarov was right.

She wanted to be stronger; she wanted to be the best stellar mage she could be.

And Loki understood that perfectly.

After all, they had worked together for a long time. He knew when he wasn't needed and he knew when to watch over her when there was danger. Loki was there when she needed him, well most of the time.

Lucy banged her head against the railing. This was a headache to think about.

She knew she loved him, and yet she never took the initiative…those thoughts went back and forth through her head. Along with other thoughts;

Of her being a coward, being afraid of what could happen.

The fear of being turned down.

Lucy shook her head; she was a confident girl and knew her abilities! She had to cheer up! It was not the end of the world if he said no.

Her boost of confidence quickly deflated.

'_No… it wouldn't be the end of the world, but my world would end.'_

She sighed deeply.

"Why am I so worked up?" She asked no one. This little love interest was driving her nuts.

'_What is wrong with me?_'

"Am I sane?" Lucy murmured into the wind. Maybe the guild was actually making her lose brain cells.

She knew the guild wasn't to blame. Loki was the one that affected her senses. Her brain would malfunction at his touch, the sound of his voice, even the grin on his face. Lucy laughed at the realization.

She was putty in his hands.

"..The things you do to me..."

-

-

* * *

"Explain." Makarov said gruffly.

He stood upon the bar counter, expecting to discuss the previous events that occurred in Poppy. The two before him had a few days to clean up from when they first arrived back to the guild. In front of him now, they were retelling the encounter. Natsu, who decided to tell the whole thing, had run a rapid burst of words which neither Erza or the guild master understood.

"What do you mean explain?! I just told you! A huge mon-" Natsu began before a hand slapped itself over his mouth.

Erza glared at the mage to quiet him as she lifted her hand off his mouth. He wasn't telling it correctly in her opinion. Quieting him would make it easier for her to retell the story from the beginning.

"We were searching for a lullaby. Splitting up, we later encountered a few mages from Grimoire Heart."

"Yea, and this stupid blood bas-"

"Shut up!"

Makarov groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He thought it would've taken longer for the dark guilds to catch the scent of the Lullaby Weapons. He should've known after Lucy told him she got strange looks when The Sweet Lullaby was in her hands.

This stuff Erza just told him made what he had just found out even worse.

"Did they have anything on them?" Makarov questioned.

Erza lifted an object covered in fabric. She lifted the soft textile, displaying the dagger that they had fought for in Poppy.

Makarov's stomach dropped.

"Did they have anything _else?_"

Natsu shrugged. He only knew of the dagger Erza had shown to the guild master.

"Yea, a scythe." Erza replied.

The Guild master began to pace upon the bar counter. His hands rubbed the mustache upon his face. This was overwhelming.

Erza and Natsu who watched the small man walk back and forth upon the wood were confused.

"Old man, why is that a problem?" Natsu crossed his arms.

The guild master stopped his pacing. He fell silent for a moment before deciding to speak.

"Well those lullabies hold a special importance."

The two younger mages urged the elder on.

"They are the keys to releasing Zeref." Makarov said gravely.

"Who's that?" Natsu questioned.

Makarov who didn't want to really deal with the issue, handed it off to the female beside Natsu. Erza then explained who he was to the pink haired mage.

"…..I don't understand what's wrong then. We already got three of them, and they're going to get sealed and put in the council's archives."

"Well we don't _actually_ have three of them.…."

"What do you mean master?"

Makarov paused, wondering how he should phrase the next few words that would come out of his mouth. Deciding the most straightforward option was the best, he decided to speak his mind.

"….council lost The Death Lullaby."

"WHAT?!" Erza and Natsu yelled.

Makarov hastily hushed the two shocked mages in front of him. The info he had just told them was highly classified. He just found out after talking with the Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus guild leaders at a recent Provincial Guild Master's Convention.

"Don't be so loud. Yes-while you were gone, someone had gone into the Council's archives and took The Death Lullaby. I expect it was Grimoire Heart just like you said. I never thought they would act so soon."

"Well they did and they almost killed us too." Natsu scoffed. He recalled the large snake being that chased them down in the cemetery.

Makarov gestured to the dagger, assuming what he thought it was. "So how'd you beat it?"

"Burned it. Then the whole town went along with it."

Makarov gaped. "W-what? You-you destroyed a WHOLE TOWN?!"

As Erza continued the story of what happened in Poppy, Makarov felt himself shrink smaller and smaller. He couldn't believe they had destroyed a _whole village_. A few buildings he understood, but one large cemetery and a whole town?! He cried for the pit of his wallet. Oh how the council was going to have a field day with this!

"….even Lucy's spirits helped with the fight, they burst into flames and it was so cool!" Natsu waved his arms. The whole combination of magic was a sight to see as Natsu recalled. The exhilaration he felt during that fight was something he hadn't felt in such a long time.

"They burst into flames?" Makarov tilted his head.

"Well Lucy said something and then they ran with us at the monster and it exploded!"

"I see…" He had to confirm this with the stellar mage. "Well where is she anyway?"

"Uh..." Natsu scratched his head. He had no clue.

"Grey's with talking with Juvia outside. Lucy…I don't know either." Erza added in, wavering in her answer.

Makarov gave Erza a look before deciding to let it slide. He wondered if she was hiding something, assuming it had to do with the blonde haired mage he would discuss it later.

Natsu was oblivious to the exchange that happened before him. Instead, he looked to his sides before turning to look behind himself.

"Yea…Happy disappeared too….where does everyone keep going!?"

* * *

The streets had quieted down as people left to do their business elsewhere. Watching the world around her seemed boring as now nothing walked by. Lucy, still feeling confused about everything, continued to stare at the emptying roads and streets.

Lucy's ears perked at a sudden set of voices below her. Curious she peeked through the bars and looked down.

Grey stood beneath her along with Juvia.

Lucy raised an eyebrow.

Grey was slumped over. He seemed annoyed at the fact he was out there and yet patches of pink appeared on his face. One of his hands was stiff to his side while the other was in the hand of the water mage next to him.

Juvia was talking towards the ice mage, discussing how she was grateful for him seeing her off for her next mission. Unlike Grey, her blush was more evident. A smile appeared on Juvia's face as she continued to babble on about what they could do when she got back.

Grey interrupted the girl, pulling his hand out of its hold. Lucy saw a frown appear on Juvia's face directed at the ice alchemist.

"Now what's this?" Lucy mumbled. Her eyes suddenly widened.

Grey had placed his hands instead on the female's shoulders and pulled her towards him. A few words of complaint died on Jubia's lips as Grey placed a small kiss on her forehead.

Lucy could've shot herself. The image before her was quite-shocking-to say the least. She knew the alchemist's disposition with Jubia and yet…what was this before her?

Grey was giving the girl before him his affection. Something she recalled he had never done before.

Lucy wished to gouge her eyes out right then and there as another kiss was shared between the two below her.

Instead of taking the more gruesome root, her jaw dropped.

"What the fuck?!" Lucy said quite loudly. Placing her hands on her mouth immediately, she then scrambled to pull her legs out from between the railings.

Fairy Tail really was popping brain cells by the minute.

* * *

Grey and Jubia looked around for the sudden voice that had startled them.

Their relationship was a secret between the two and only those two. Jubia understood Grey's wish for privacy and had easily granted him his space; after all, she was willing to do anything for the man before her.

"Good Luck." Grey mumbled, scratching his head. Turning away from the girl, he lifted a hand as a way of good-bye.

"Thank you…" Jubia replied as she herself walked away from the building, already counting the days for her return.

* * *

Lucy eyes were popping out of her skull as she leaned against the stone wall. She slid herself away from the railing so the lovebirds below would find her. She brushed her hair back as she stared forward into the horizon.

"Damn."

Even Grey was able to have a relationship, a secret one on top of that. She could not help but laugh at the preposterous idea.

What was wrong with the world today?!

Lucy shook her head. How did Grey, who was a total nut when it came to romance, finally go for his self-proclaimed-now-official girlfriend?

She wished she had Jubia's willingness to express her love. Not for Grey of course, she had no reason to pine for him.

Lucy smacked herself, life really hated her. All the thoughts she had previously crashed back into her mind like a tsunami.

She was confused, annoyed, embarrassed and shocked and she blamed it all on Loki.

She couldn't wait to give him a piece of whatever was left in that head of hers.

If her voice didn't fail that is.

* * *

-

-

He blinked.

-

He blinked once more.

Giving a quick look of his surroundings, he found himself near one of the sidewalls of the guild. Looking up he saw a strange balcony. He couldn't see anyone up there.

He raised an eyebrow.

'_Why am I here?'_

He knew the contract between him and Lucy allowed him to come anytime he wanted, but why was she not here?

He shrugged, maybe it was some freak accident?

Deciding to think about it later, he went for the large wooden door that opened into the mess hall of the Fairy Tail Guild.

* * *

"Yo!" Loki waved towards the visible members of Team Natsu. He looked over the group, noticing the lack of a blonde haired mage.

"Have you guys seen princess? She summoned me and I can't find her."

The group, which now consisted of Erza, Natsu and Grey, shrugged. Natsu quickly mumbled a question to Erza about 'princess'. She replied saying it was Lucy. He nodded his head in understanding.

Makarov sat upon the counter giving the lion spirit a nod in welcome. Loki returned the gesture with one of his own.

"They told me about some spell you and Lucy did." Makarov commented.

Loki nodded, that spell always seemed to occur when they would face the lullaby weapons. It was a sight to see; Natsu seemed to believe that too. He began some strange dance that depicted a ghastly reenactment of the spell.

Those around him wondered if he was mentally ok.

Makarov blinked. "Well since this mission is getting a major dark guild involved, might as well call in some back up."

"We don't need back up Old man!" Natsu groaned. He thought they handled it quite well at Poppy, despite the destruction and mass chaos that had ensued over there.

"They'll get in our way, I already have enough problems with dunderhead over here." Grey agreed, pointing to the pink haired mage.

Erza sighed as the two began to squabble again. She decided it wasn't worth it so she let them be.

Makarov got involved instead and punched the two bickering boys into separate walls across the mess hall. Wiping his hands clean, he walked away, whistling from the mess hall into the guild leader's quarters.

Natsu and Grey were knocked out in their separate crevasses in the walls.

Nobody seemed to be shocked at the two.

Loki shook his head. "So Erza, are you sure you don't know exactly where Lucy is?"

Erza paused before answering. "No I haven't…why are you looking for her?"

"She summoned me."

"Really now?"

"What else is there to it?" Loki shrugged.

"When are you going to tell her?"

Loki was taken aback. "W-what are you talking about?"

"You are interesting Loki, seriously. Every girl here is looking at you and yet you came right to us at the bar just to find out about Lucy."

Loki glanced around.

Erza was right. A few of the female mages here were giving him looks. It seemed his title as 'the most desired mage to have as your boyfriend' still seemed to be in check.

"Normally you would've just given them your attention before asking us anything."

"Well people change don't they?"

"Usually there's a reason."

Now Erza got him there. Placing his hands into his pockets, he leaned back, clicking the heel of his shoe upon the wood flooring. He fell into a moment of silence before giving Erza an indication.

"So you do like her."

Loki smiled bashfully while adjusting his glasses. He hoped his face wasn't turning pink at the moment. She had hit the nail on the head.

"How much?"

"What?" Loki stared at Erza if she was crazy.

Erza pointed to the two holes in the wall. "Those two won't stand for it. So, how much are you willing to go through for her?"

"The world and back." He immediately responded. There was nothing he wouldn't do for the Stellar Mage. Even if he was her spirit, he wanted to have more than that kind of relationship with her.

Erza raised an eyebrow. She shook her head, smiling to herself, before pushing Loki towards the stairs to the second floor. "She's been upstairs somewhere for the past few hours. I don't know why but she has been."

"But-"

"I lied." She tilted her head in a pleasant manner, her smile still on her face.

Giving the knight a look of shock, he moved himself to ascend the wooden stairs.

"Oh and Loki…"

He turned to face the armored mage.

"Stop playing around or you'll have more than an unhappy Lucy on your hands." She finished in all seriousness.

Understanding the threat, he gulped before quickening his pace up several more steps.

Down below, Erza cracked her knuckles meanwhile smiling to herself. She knew exactly where Lucy was, but she hoped it all played out to plan.

All's work in the day of the unconventional cupid.

Now she had to pry the two nitwits from the walls.

* * *

Lucy stood in front of the balcony door. Her facial expression was that of horror.

Her hand rested upon the knob, which opened into the inner quarters of the 2nd floor.

She was currently trying to twist the knob; it wouldn't budge. What was worse was her key ring and earrings were at home.

So, Lucy was stranded out on the balcony. With no way to get off it.

"Why!?!" She cried.

She only meant to stay out for just a few hours to get her bearings straight on Loki and the mission they had went through!

Now she was stuck out there for the evening, or worse…

Permanently.

Her head banged against the door in defeat. She should've wallowed in her memories at _home_. She slid down to the floor and curled up into a ball before staring past the railing.

The sunset seemed pretty that evening. There was a cute little blue cloud that was fluttering around in the sky. Her eyes were following its course.

Shaking her head, she immediately recognized the blue cloud.

Moving herself to the railing, she leaned over to call to it.

"Happy! Happy!" She waved to the blue cat that was flying freely in the air. The cloud hearing its name called, veered towards the voice and landing on the railing near the Stellar Mage.

"Aye Lucy!" He waved.

Lucy explained that the door was locked, and wondered if Happy could give her a lift off the balcony.

"So can you do it?"

"What are you doing up here anyway?" He asked.

Happy knew of the balcony Lucy stood upon, as it was rigged a few years back to get Bisca and Alzack to confess to each other. The thing was, the story about the rigged door got out, and the duo became even more embarrassed about their strange relationship with each other. In short, the creation of the 'Love Lockout' Balcony was an utter failure. No one ever went on the balcony now, unless they wanted to get stuck out there for quite some time. A few however took advantage of that and used their time up there to talk to their loved ones.

Happy rubbed his chin, curious if he could make something work with the situation that had befallen the girl before him. He still hadn't heard anything from the mage.

"So…?"

Lucy blinked. "I was thinking…" she trailed off.

"About what?"

"Stuff."

"You could've just thought about 'stuff' at home Lucy."

The mage sighed. Even she knew that. Resting her head in her arms as she stared into the sunset, her thoughts returned to the strawberry blonde.

-

-

"Loki."

Her head spun. "What?" Did the cat somehow have telepathic abilities?

'_Does he know?'_

Happy tilted his head. A blue paw pointed to the horizon. "The sun's color reminds me of Loki."

Lucy let out a breath she was holding. Looking back at the sunset, she did agree with the blue feline. It did somewhat give off the color of his hair.

"You two do make a cute couple. I believe so, Aye." The cat nodded.

Lucy's mouth dropped. Even the cat believed she had some sort of chance with the lion spirit. She shook her head, hoping the cat would believe it. "It would be strange...awkward."

"That's good!"

Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"Everyone in Fairy Tail is strange and we all get along! So you and Loki could get along too...Aye?"

She couldn't help but smile at the cat's reasoning. Yeah, Fairy Tail was pretty much a huge carnival. In her mind, however that wasn't what she meant by 'awkward'. Her relationship with Loki was already strange enough.

"…Would it work out?" She mumbled into the wind.

Happy smiled, nodding at the female mage. He fluttered over to pat her back.

"Yep."

With that, he flew away, back into the air and slowly descending towards the entrance of Fairy Tail. He couldn't wait to tell Mirajane who was on _that_ balcony.

A crease appeared between Lucy's brows. She couldn't help but wonder why Happy hadn't even taken her off the balcony. All he had done was given her some strange advice and fluttered away singing 'Locked out' repeatedly.

"Just my luck." She groaned.

* * *

Loki found himself in front of another door.

Compared to the other doors on the second floor, this one seemed sturdier than the rest. The color was that of a cream color; if one passed by it he or she might not even see the door. It color was very close to that of the wall. Its knob however, was a shimmering gold and contrasted with the lightness of the wall around it.

Loki had opened the previous doors and checked the rooms they opened into. None of them had the stellar mage he looked for inside.

One of them had Bixlow however and it was not a good conversation.

When Loki opened that door, he was met with the face of the puppeteer mage. Loki noted his normal attire was somewhat off as he was wearing some sort of pajamas. Bixlow flipped off the lion spirit, telling him to go find that 'busty blonde' Lucy and get it on in a bed or something. He himself was busy at that moment, possibly trying to sleep. However, he did say that he wouldn't mind watching them. At that suggestion, Loki had to punch the mage and shut the door.

_'What a bastard.'_

He clenched his hand as he stood before the strange door. His face burned at the idea Bixlow planted in his head. Shaking it off, he slowly turned the knob.

He was met with a cool breeze as the door eased open. The door led to the balcony that had a very nice view of the sun setting on the horizon.

Glancing to the side, he noticed a figure against the wall dozing. The glowing sun gave the figure an ethereal look, her blonde hair made it obvious whom it was.

"Princess?" Loki questioned. The girl didn't stir at the name. He shut the door, allowing it to click shut. Walking forward, he leaned down to check if the girl was okay.

She was shivering slightly at the wind that blew past the balcony. Her form was slack against the wall, yet her arms were crossed tightly against her torso.

Sighing, he sat down beside the shivering girl and slowly leaned her into his lap. He then pulled his dress coat off to drape it over the girl's body.

"Mhm…" Lucy sighed, snuggling at the warmth.

Loki smiled at the sleeping girl, she was more of a cat than he was, as she snuggled closer into the heat his body offered.

"Now why are you out here…?" Loki mumbled to the sleeping girl. He had taken a liking to stroking her hair as she rested in his lap. The girl reacted to the gesture and her hand appeared from under the coat to rub at her eyes.

"Hm..?" She continued to rub at her eyes, trying to clear her vision. There was a strange orange puff before here and she wanted to see what it truly was.

She blinked as the image of Loki's face became clearer. Her eyes were wide as saucers as she glanced around noticing she rested in his lap. Her face turned a cherry red.

'_Why is he here?!'_

"So the princess has awoken hm?" He chimed. Glancing down at the now cherry red girl. He was amused at how quickly he had influenced the red hue to appear on her face.

"W-what are you doing here?" She questioned, as she leaned forward to get sit up but her movement was stopped as Loki moved himself to prevent her from doing so.

"Don't get up..your light enough as is so don't worry about it. And to answer your question..." He paused getting closer to her face. Their noses were barely touching. "You summoned me." He whispered.

Lucy sighed in resignation at the fact she couldn't lift herself off his lap, despite her desire to actually stay in it. She shuddered as he got closer, "I- I don't have my keys."

"That's never stopped me before."

"…Ah.."

"So why are _you_ up here my dear mistress?" Loki questioned. He had a slight idea why she was up here alone, plus the fact she summoned him on pure emotion, which did happen on occasion.

Her eyes turned away from his, hoping to focus on something other than him. Her heart fluttered in his sight and it was wishing to fly away. She cleared her throat, hoping it wouldn't be raspy, before coming up with an answer. "I-I was..just thinking about..things."

"You'll have to do better than that….my dear." He purred out.

Her vagueness was something he wouldn't stand for, but he didn't mind waiting for a reasonable answer. They were going to be up there for quite some time as he tried to reopen the door previously when he came in. The door was locked from the inside from what he knew. Erza must've planned this from the beginning.

For once he owed the red haired mage. For setting them up.

Silence reigned between the two for a while as Lucy came up with some sort of rebuttal. Loki waited patiently as the stellar mage became stubborn. He sighed, deciding he had to take it into his own hands.

Looking at the position the two were in, he smiled at a mere memory.

"Now this is familiar."

Lucy perked up at the comment yet her eyes refused to lock with his. What could be so damn familiar about them being stuck on a balcony for god knows how long?

"You rested in my lap just like this before Porlyusica healed you."

Lucy raised an eyebrow, interested in what he was talking about. "Oh…really?" She mumbled, not finding anything amusing about that situation. She recalled him telling her that she was gushing blood and on death's door. He had to tell her what happened after the battle, everything from then to awaking in Porlyusica's house was all a blur.

Loki nodded, despite knowing Lucy might have not seen it. Silence engulfed the two once more, as the sun quickly disappeared over the horizon. Lamps posted on the corners of the balcony flickered on, giving the two some light as they sat on the balcony. Once again, Loki's voice cut through the silence.

"You said some strange things during that time…."

Lucy rolled her eyes.

"You said you wanted cake."

She didn't know she had said any of this after the fight. Loki never told her this before. She understood why since it was purely random thoughts and comments. She turned her head so she could face the lion spirit once more. "…What else did I say?"

Loki said silent, staring at the girl's brown eyes. He wondered how she'd take the next few words that would come out of his mouth.

Noticing his silence, she took the moment to raise herself onto her knees. Loki didn't object to the change in position as she now sat in front of him. She tilted her head.

"What else did I say?"

The light had cast a shadow, covering his eyes. He still wouldn't respond to the question. Lucy leaned closer to the male, before she found herself in a light hug pressed to his chest. Her hair stood on end as she felt his breath upon his neck. "L-loki?"

Bringing his lips to her ear, he whispered the words she wanted to know.

"_I love you…you know that right?"_

Lucy's eyes widened as she pushed away from the male. His tone matched his facial expression.

He was being downright serious.

Lucy couldn't believe she had said those words, it was strange how when she was fully conscious that phrase would refuse to come out.

Her mind was on overload as she tried to simply recall every confessing that to the lion spirit. She knew it was futile as nothing came to mind about the event. One thing however plagued her.

'_What did he think..?' _

"What…did you say afterward? You- you must've thought I was kidding." She tried to laugh it off; making it look as if she thought it was all a joke. Her heart however was screaming at her to say it was all true from the beginning.

Loki brushed a hand through his hair.

-

-

"Honestly I did think that."

-

Her heart sunk.

* * *

"The idiot's dead." Erza growled out as she prepared to open the door and give the lion spirit a piece of his mind.

A hand stopped her.

Mirajane shook her head. "There's no need, they haven't said anything important yet so let them be."

The two girls leaned against a small vent, which streamed air from the balcony. Several of these were positioned behind movable wall so no one would notice them. They had listened to the conversation on the behind the door hearing what the two had said.

Now and then people would stop and stare at the two who were on their knees, with their ear against the vent. They were curious who were the two were now listening in on. Their curiosity would change into fear as the two girls glared the watchers away.

Finding themselves with no one to bother them, the girls continued to listen into the conversation behind the walls.

* * *

"However….I did respond to the sudden confession." Loki commented, giving it a thought. "Now what did I say….?"

Lucy stared hard at the man before her. Was he kidding her right now? Lucy's mind questioned as her eyes glimmered with unshed tears. The discovery of him believing she didn't mean what she had said was unnerving to the blonde haired mage. She fiercely rubbed her eyes.

"N-no need Loki. I _understand_." She whispered with a bitter tone. Lucy lifted herself up. She really wanted to get herself off this damn balcony. The consideration of jumping off the railing had drifted into her head.

Loki frowned, this little confession of his own wasn't going the way he planned. Grabbing the wrist of the girl, he quickly pulled her back into his chest. With a sudden 'oof' Lucy was now back in the arms of the lion spirit. Her mood went sour.

"I don't need to hear this anymore Loki. Just- just go. I mean really now. Stop….just stop it!" She grounded out, her voice getting louder by the minute. She had enough of the games; she already knew how he felt. He thought this all was a joke right?

"Lucy…." He said, trying to ease the angry girl who now was struggling in his grasp.

"Stop it!"

"Hear me out…please. Just hear me out."

Seeing as she couldn't get out of his grasp, her struggling ceased with a heavy sigh. Loki saw this as a sign and continued what he recalled.

"Now…I said that when…when you were better and not bleeding on the floor like you were…to say those words to me again…"

Lucy continued to stay silent.

"…And I promised…"

He placed his hand on her check, slowly urging her to turn to face him. Her face was blank as she locked eyes with his.

"I promised..that you would never be lonely again…if you did."

Lucy raised her eyebrows. She looked at him as if he was a bit touched in the head. Was he being serious?

"What are you getting at?" She questioned her eyes sharp and glaring back at the lion spirit.

He scratched his head as he broke the staring contest between him and Lucy. He couldn't make it any simpler than what he said, unless he went for the really straight forward approach.

"Come on Lucy, I'm being serious here."

"I doubt it."

Loki frowned. Was this not enough for the girl? He already had explained he liked her. What else could he do?

An idea came to mind.

If this didn't work the whole spirit realm would be laughing at him. He threw off his glasses, which made Lucy give him another look.

"Then doubt this." He immediately placed both of his hands on her cheeks and planted his lips against hers.

A sudden spark ignited in Lucy's stomach as his lips touched hers. Any coherent thought that passed through her mind disappeared in that instant.

She leaned in on instinct, pressing herself closer to the lion spirit. His lips pressed back, returning the kiss with fervor. It was pure bliss as she felt his hands wander from her head, to her neck, finally resting on her back.

Her fingers curled against his chest as she tilted her head, giving the male access to her neck. His kisses slowly trailed down her swollen lips past the side of her cheek to the flesh beneath her ear. His teeth then grazed across the soft skin on her neck, nipping here and there. She couldn't help but mewl at the sudden emotions that floated in her head as Loki's hands and teeth brushed against her skin. Arching inward, she sighed at the touches before whining when he stopped his ministrations.

The heat in her stomach, slowly ebbed away painfully.

"Lucy…." He murmured, his voice husky. Looking into her eyes, he noticed her desire to continue where they had stopped. He smirked at the sight before placing one small kiss on her forehead then another on her neck, where a mark was developing.

"I love you…you know that right?" He said, taking a page out of the stellar mage's book.

"Ah…" She sighed, her head resting in the crook of his neck. She mumbled a few words into his collar, which Loki didn't understand.

"What'd you say princess?" He murmured, looking aside to the girl.

Her arms wound themselves around his neck. Looking to the spirit, she smiled

-

-

"I love you too...now kiss me you idiot."

-

Loki was happy to oblige.

-

-

* * *

"What are you guys doing over there?" Grey questioned, looking at the two girls positioned strangely in front of a vent. He had come up to check on Mirajane, as she had left the bar for quite some time. The drunks downstairs were getting grumpy. From what he could see, they were smiling at the strange noises coming from the vent.

The two girls waved him off before returning to their quarry. They were amused by the out-turn of events that they heard from the ventilation.

Looking to the side, he noticed the door, which led to the balcony. Wondering what they were so interested about, he turned the knob and peeked inside. He instantly regretted the action. A screech and a growl blasted through the vent.

Suddenly Four sets of eyes landed on him.

Erza and Mirajane gave him a glance that threatened his being before dashing away. They didn't want to be caught by the two now official lovebirds that would come out very angry from the balcony.

The said lovebirds growled at the intrusion by the ice mage, and stomped over to grab the door and get back into the guild. Being interrupted in their moment, they decided to continue whatever they had started at Lucy's apartment.

Grey unfortunately, was shoved out onto the balcony for the night.

And what a night he had.

* * *

Ch 7. Fin~

A/N: o_O'.........don't shoot me please. x-x'

Now, I have a little challenge for you all if you're up to it. It's based on the Love Lockout Balcony and its rules are explained further on my profile. Here's a general description of what the balcony was used for and how it pretty much looks:

The balcony door is a creme/off white door which blends into the walls of the second floor in the Fairy Tail guild. The distinguishable feature of the door would be the gold knob which seems to just out of the wall if one looked at it from afar. Many of the guild knew about this balcony and it only was created during Lucy's little departure. There are small vents/peepholes which are drilled into the wall that lead to the balcony, but they are covered by movable patches of wall.

The outer balcony has a small rectangular shape, and from one side, the sun can be easily seen rising and setting over the roofs of the houses of Magnolia. At each corner of the balcony are lamp posts. The vents that lead from the inside have little grates where the wall and the balcony meet. They are small enough not to be seen or noticed as something important.

Its main purpose was to get Bisca and Alzack together, courtesy of Mirajane. She was the person who rigged the door along with Levi (with much persuasion). However, that plan failed miserably and now no one uses the balcony. It can only be unlocked from the inside of the guild. So far, no one has committed suicide from the balcony. (although it is highly possible that someone can live from the fall, everyone being mages and all...)

And with that,

REVIEW


	8. 1:8:Subtleties

**Yeah, I jumped the gun. It's early guys and dolls...  
**

**DISCLAIMER:** Oh geez. Just let me get this thing written up. Ahem. I do not own Fairy Tail and as much as I'd love to have a Loki and/or Lucy plushy on my bed I do not have one. (I would like one though…)

I suggest rereading the last parts of chapter 7...get the feeling back.

* * *

Ch 8: Subtleties

'_There are words missing in these quotation marks.'_

-_Anonymous_

* * *

"Now that was…interesting." Loki sighed, shutting Lucy's door. His hand still holding on tenderly to Lucy's small hand. Feeling her wiggle in his grasp, he let her go. He noticed her dazed expression as she drifted to a wooden chair.

Tilting his head, he quickly closed the space between them to lean before her, taking her hands into his.

"Darling, are you okay?" He wondered at her abnormal silence. Had he _broken _her?

"I-I'm sorry, but really…this—this feels ridiculous," Lucy whispered finally as his fingers brushed lightly over hers. Looking up at him, she searched his eyes before looking away to shake her head with a pained smile on her face. "…unreal even...I mean…look at us. Look at _you. _This—this doesn't make _sense._"

'_Do I really…deserve this? Deserve you?'_

He chuckled, realizing why she had gone demure. It was funny, the feisty woman before him had such sharp claws, and something had finally made her so quiet and _small._ Taking one hand, he brought it to his lips, leaving a small peck. His eyes piercing into hers.

"Lucy…I _want you_."

Her breath hitched.

"There is no other girl right now other than you in my mind. Why do you think you aren't _worth my time?"_

She blinked, her mouth gaping and closing like a goldfish. She wanted to be his of course; it was just that little feeling of insecurity, of being worth less than what he deserved, that brought her down. Suddenly her eyes widened at the feeling of being lifted off the chair. Her hands clung tightly to him as she pressed her head tightly into the crook of his neck.

"I don't care about those 'other girls' since the only one I care about is the girl right _here_." He hummed happily into Lucy's ear before placing her down onto her own bed before sitting onto it. He blinked as she quickly scrambled out of his grasp, and beneath the covers. Her large brown eyes and pink cheeks being the only things visible beneath her white sheets.

He laughed melodiously. Lucy tilted her head at the sound.

"God you're so _cute. _Lucy, what do you expect of me? I don't take advantage of women…unless they want me to." He winked, causing the girl to sink further into the covers. Yep, there went her rosy cheeks. He sighed realizing that wasn't a good idea especially with Lucy's surfacing insecurities.

"Ah…but princess…you're being so _quiet._ I don't know what _you _want."

Lucy poked her head out of the covers slightly, cocking her head to the side. Her lips pursed as she stared him down.

'_I want this to work. I want to love you. I want—'_

"You…just be here, with me. T-that's fine for now…" She whispered, her hands reaching out from the comforters to cling to his shirt.

Easing into the hold, he smiled soon placing another kiss onto her forehead. "So I'm guessing you're going to let me court you huh…?" He wondered, his hands finding her waist beneath the comforters. His curiosity perked at the feeling of something lacy hugging against Lucy's sides.

Ignoring the thought, he felt her nod against his chest, clinging closer to him.

"Okay then…my starlet." He smiled, not realizing a similar smile adorned the stellar mage's face.

Nuzzling up to him, she sighed. It only took minutes for her to doze off, entering sweet oblivion.

The last thing she heard was the sound of his voice.

"_Sweet dreams princess_."

..

..

..

..

..

..

'_Sweet dreams my ass.'_

Once again was she in a shadowed world of darkness, hinted with speckles of grey here and there. Lucy rubbed at her skin, finding herself in a white silk gown she couldn't remember even choosing to wear that night.

'_I didn't even change…'_

She looked down at her feet, her toes wiggling experimentally as she wondered if this was all real.

Was this really a dream?

She pursed her lips in thought. Her feet began to move beneath her, her mind blank until she realized it was _her_ who was driving the motion. There was no puppetry behind all this. It was her own body following the thoughts of her mind; thoughts, driven by pure curiosity.

And curiosity killed the cat…so to say.

Driven like an animal to a watering hole, she thirsted for the answer to this damned world she found herself in night after night. The visit to this realm would not be futile. She wanted explanations.

One thing for sure she knew was the world around her was eerily silent. The pitter-patter of her feet hitting the unknown substance of the floor was lost. Nothing hit her ears, except that of a static noise; an annoying high pitched buzzing which disappeared and reappeared frequently.

Her feet continued along an invisible path, the noise suddenly returning after a moment of pure unadulterated silence. It was louder than before, and it was increasing in volume. Lucy flinched, her hand going to her ears. It didn't help at all as the noise was coming from no exact origin.

Her eyes twitched at the noise, the high-pitched squeals and low buzzes did not feel right at all to the girl. She could only shut her eyes in pain even as a glimmer of light passed through her eyelids.

Soon after, the noise of irregular notes had ceased. It became a pleasant hum, similar to a beating heart. The tune felt as if it was radiating warmth in the cold world she first fell into. One brown eye peeked open, wondering what had happened, only to find herself looking towards a familiar creature, who always appeared in the darkness in her dreams.

A lion.

It cocked its head aside, looking at the girl in the white gown. Feeling uncomfortable, Lucy crossed her arms against her chest at the penetrating green eyes.

"You female…are an interesting choice for the star wielder." The lion rumbled, the sound raspy as his maw opened and closed forming words Lucy easily understood. The stellar mage stood agape as she heard the feline talk fluidly.

A chuckle rolled off the lion's mouth. "Why do you look so shocked? Haven't we encountered each other before? In your _dreams _perhaps?" The cat grinned, his teeth shining from the glow emitted from the lion's fur. Lucy gulped, misunderstanding the pleasant smile for something more predatory.

She did recall the lion, always seeing it roar sadly as a small woman faded away into the pitch black. It was always the same thing when she saw the lion. It's cry was something she would never forget. As she began to form words on her lips to agree, she paused discovering she had no voice. Her hand lightly grazed her neck as she stared fearfully at the lion. If it attacked her now, there was no way anyone would hear her scream. Not like there was anyone else in here besides this annoyingly bright lion. She nodded slowly, her eyes not leaving the feline.

Again it laughed, amused at Lucy's discovery. "You have no rule here…much like as if you were a mere shadow upon the wall. Silent and meant to only be a mirror to another, in this world that is. However, that is a problem…"

With the flick of his tail, a set of glowing orbs flew past him, leading towards Lucy. Gasping silently, she stepped back, her hands in front of her in fear. She soon realized the orbs were not hurting her.

They felt warm in her hands, the light they gave off bright and lively. She stared at them in awe, fascinated at the display of magic. The orbs then coalesced into a gold feather pen, clean cut and new. She scanned the golden feather and its silver tip before looking at the lion. She gave a questioning look, gesturing to the pen then back to the animal.

"It is for you to talk—or to write if you are more technical." He tilted his head, easing her into writing something.

She blinked, wondering if the lion was insane. Surely, she couldn't use this. There was no ink! No paper! Her mental complaints jarred to a halt when she realized the pen in her hands was no _normal_ pen. Hell, who expects a pen given to you by a lion—a glowing one at that—to be normal?She snorted, deciding to write the simplest question.

'_Who are you?_' Were the words scrawled in the air, the golden manuscript floating delicately and flowing in a wavelike fashion as it spun like ribbon towards the being that stood a small distance away. It raised its eyebrows at the question then at the writer.

Lucy put her hands to her hips and pouted, awaiting an answer.

The lion shook its head. "You _Lucy Heartfilia, _do not know _me_?" He asked.

Lucy widened her eyes, her hand immediately scrawling something quickly, into the air. The lion not awaiting a question moved closer to the girl leaving a trail of gold light in his wake.

'_How do you know my name?'_ She wrote, her words expressing her shock. She gasped at the sudden closeness of the lion before her. Unlike before, the ribbon of words flipped to show the lion the sentence. His eyes glimmered.

"There is a reason for that Lucy. Much like the reason you appear here night after night. A reason—"

'_Lucy.'_

Two heads shot up at the sudden call. The lion growled, getting Lucy's attention. "—as I was saying, a reason I have no right to tell you _yet._ Time is short for you in this realm of the stars."

Lucy raised her hand once more to question again, only to find a paw on her wrist. Looking up, the lion shook his head.

"There is little you can ask, until you know who _I _am. My girl, how can you _not_ know? Are you _blind?_" The lion stared.

'_Lucy…'_

Lucy frowned deeply ignoring the call of her name as she looked over the lion once more. It glowed, brightly in fact. The only thing that came to mind that seemed relative to the lion and the light was Loki.

She stilled, her fingers pressing tightly on the feather pen before she scrawled Loki's name into the air.

The lion smiled slightly. "You're getting warmer Lucy Heartfilia. But really, _do you know my real name?_"

'_Lucy…!'_

Before she had the chance to raise the pen, a sudden blinding light flashed at her eyes, the whisper of the lion's name leaving her lips as she felt herself awaken with soft cotton fabric brushing against her skin.

"Regulus…."

* * *

Erza had enough of calling Lucy who slept like a log in her bed. She also had enough of the strange assortment of clothing draped upon a nearby desk and chair set.

Tossing away the strange cup and string clothing piece she found in a drawer, she pulled open the curtains, the sun blasting forward onto Lucy's face.

"Lucy! Get up, we have to go!" Erza sighed, her frustration disappearing at the sight of the girl in bed. A bemused look appeared on her face.

'_So that's why she had a tie on the chair…'_

She never knew of what happened between the mage and her playboy after they sped off out of the guild garnering some shocked and upset faces. She didn't understand the guild's shock at the whole scenario anyway; Loki dragging her through the mess hall and Lucy blushing madly. Seeing Lucy on the bed however aroused her suspicions.

Erza prodded the girl, only to get her hand swatted away.

"Stop doing that…" Lucy grunted, turning in the bed as she creaked on eye open in annoyance.

"Well, I wouldn't be doing this if you didn't _do_ a specific someone last night," Erza humored, leaning against a desk. "Lucy...Lucy...what drove you to doing such a deed?" She hummed before raising her eyebrow at a pair of sunglasses resting upon the desk. Snatching them up, she placed them onto her face, making several faces at the dazed girl.

Immediately she shot up, looking around to see if that 'specific someone' was around. Looking to the girl with the blue shades, Lucy noticed Erza shaking her head.

"He had to run an errand," She answered, noticing the stare Lucy was giving her. Erza saw the lion spirit a few minutes ago scrambling to find something before disappearing in a fog entirely. "It's a wonder how he was able to stay the night Lucy. Doesn't your _magic_ keep him here?"

Lucy groaned, her hand wiping her face. "We didn't _do_ anything or anyone he just put me to—damn it!" She exclaimed rushing to cover herself. She had realized she didn't have anything on, except for a lacy set of underwear she put on yesterday.

'_Good job picking the finest day to wear these Lucy Heartfilia…'_

Lucy snorted, realizing how she found herself in such indecent clothing.

'_He must've noticed them…of course he'd strip me down to just this...pervert.'_

She sighed deeply, flopping back into a pillow.

"I still don't get why you wear those frilly things Lucy….especially that thing around your chest—doesn't it bother with everything else?" Erza questioned, pulling off the shades and chucking them aside to the far corner of the room. Seeing Lucy blush and turn her head aside, Erza could only shake her head in confusion before frowning at a set of colorful bruises trailing Lucy's neck.

"Did _he_ do that to you?" She pointed, to Lucy's neck. The thought of the lion spirit strangling the girl came into Erza's mind.

Lucy widened her eyes

"Gah! Erza! Get out!" She complained with a heavy blush upon her cheeks. Slapping a hand over her neck, she rushed to the bathroom to get dressed.

* * *

Natsu grumbled with his eyes narrowed in scrutiny toward Lucy who sat at a table searching through her mother's book. She hadn't taken the time to talk to anyone despite Erza who walked in with her and gave the stellar mage angry frowns.

Lucy sighed, flipping through another page as she nibbled slightly on the tip of a pair of blue shades. Natsu raised an eyebrow at the familiar object in Lucy's hands.

'_Damn….why are they so familiar?'_

"What are you staring at Natsu?" Lucy questioned, her eyes glancing up towards the male who somehow had leaned over her.

He only blinked before shooting away in quick apology. Situating himself farther away onto a bar bench, he continued to narrow his eyes at the girl, trying to recall why the hell Lucy seemed so _different._ Her clothing was as skimpy as normal. ("Hey!" She screeched, chucking something his way. He must've said it out loud.) Her hair was down, a more recent change to her features. Her scent—

Natsu twitched. A light bulb flickered on in his head.

"Have Lucy and Erza arriv—oh yes there they are," Makarov called from the stairs, hopping down with a disgruntled Grey in tow. "I need you guys to run another errand for me, include these two nitwits while you're at it." He snorted, pointing to Grey, who was being mocked by Kana for getting stuck on the balcony, and Natsu who was now glaring holes from afar into a befuddled Lucy.

Erza nodded, grabbing Natsu by the scarf and dragging him out to the front of the Guild.

Makarov blinked, he hadn't even told her what they were going to do! With a sigh, he shoved Grey out the front door, barely grazing Natsu and Erza with an elongated hand. Then he turned to the researching Lucy.

"Natsu's acting strange…Master." She mumbled feeling his gaze while she turned through pages of notes.

Giving Natsu a look, he shook his head. "His love life isn't as important as what I'll be telling you," Makarov frowned, crossing his arms. "So, ignore the moron for now."

("HEY! I ain't no moron!")

("Keep thinking that Natsu…")

("You wanna start somethin'?")

Lucy looked up. "What do you mean? He has no interest in me." Lucy scoffed, looking back down at the book halfheartedly. Even though her eyes saw words, none of it was computing as the thought of Natsu's love life came to fruition.

"It's in the boy's eyes. He's concerned about _something_ and it seems it's you," He shrugged before taking his cane out and smacking it into the pages Lucy turned to. Her attention now laid solely on him. "Either way, I'll need you to go to Ambrosia."

"Wait what?…Master do you mean the beach!" The thoughts of white sand and clear water appeared through Lucy's mind. She couldn't wait to hit the resorts situated on Ambrosia's famous beaches. She surely needed some time to clear up her thoughts about a specific someone…possibly get a pedicure…

"Not on vacation, I'm afraid," Lucy frowned at his words. "This is more of a business trip," He answered, tapping his cane into Layla's spellbook. "Bob caught whiff of a beast appearing on Ambrosia beach. One of his members….Hibiki Laytis, I'm guessing, was sent along with guests from Lamia Scale to fight it off. Hibiki and one of the Lamia Scale members were not heard from since."

Lucy widened her eyes. What beast could've caused them to disappear? She only hoped the two were safe where ever they were lost.

"From what we know, someone did get back to their guild and she'll be in Ambrosia for you to talk to."

The stellar mage raised an eyebrow at the word _she._ Lucy had a strange feeling she knew this _she_ from somewhere before. She pursed her lips.

Noticing her space out again, Makarov tapped harder into Layla's book. "Seriously girl, I need you to listen! Your mother's work is intertwined with this as for sure a beast that's described as a '_huge fucking crab that breathes fire_' is obviously not an attraction at a five star beach. _Someone_ must've found whatever lullaby it was and released it."

"So your saying—"

He nodded solemnly.

"Grimoire Heart is involved."

* * *

"Are you serious?" Grey gaped, staring at the hundreds of bikini-clad women running up and down the sandy beach. He grinned lecherously. Now only if—

"Don't get any ideas lover boy and keep your clothes _on!_ You have Jubia to deal with at home." Lucy scowled, smacking him upside the head. There was no way in hell he'd get off scot-free with his ideas especially with Jubia as his girlfriend. She paused, realizing the information she had just spoke out loud wasn't official news. Well…it wasn't even _news._

Grey scowled at Lucy, his eyes relaying a message saying, '_How the hell did you know?'_

She only chuckled nervously before abiding her time by looking for Sherry, the girl she assumed would be in Ambrosia.

"So you and Jubia…?" Natsu grinned, leaning closer into Grey's violated face.

"Good choice." Erza commented to Grey as she paused to question how the girls fought in such clothing.

The group continued around before finally deciding to dress down. Lucy decided to go through her luggage for a sun dress and a scarf. The scarf looked strange on the girl, but no one decided to confront her about it. Grey and Natsu went for the more basic look and for once Grey's lack of attire was appropriate for Ambrosia. Erza deciding to stay safe remained clad in her armor…just in case.

A hearty chuckle caught the attention of the group as they filed out of a nearby lodge.

"Erza? Even after three years you wear such armor? Well at least you're a beacon on these sandy shores, the shine you give off! The shine!"

"Hey! It's the girl with that rat….what's her name?" Natsu mumbled over to Lucy who only face faulted at the question. The girl fumed, stomping up to Natsu and prodding him harshly on the chest. Angelica behind her chattered angrily.

"My name is Sherry you idiot! Too bad Lyon isn't here or I'd—"

"Where _exactly_ is Lyon, Sherry?" Grey questioned interrupting her tirade.

Sherry frowned, her hands making work with the pink wrap tied across her waist. Her eyes lidded in sadness. Soon enough water swelled up in her eyes and tears began to fall. Quickly she ran into the chest of her large blue rat before turning towards Team Natsu.

"He disappeared." She whispered harshly.

* * *

"The monster was huge….large claws and it breathed fire—"

"It's a dragon! We're going to fight a dragon!" Natsu yelled excitedly, launching up and grabbing Happy by his front paws to spin him in the air.

"N-natsu!" He yelped, his vision going foggy before he blacked out in dizziness.

Lucy shook her head, pressing down on the blue shades on her face. "My mama never sealed a dragon lullaby."

"Heh. Tough luck Natsu." Grey scoffed, leaning against the wall.

Natsu glared at Grey as he slowed down in his spin quickly realizing his friend went limp in his grip.

The group, including Sherry and Angelica, sat in Lucy's hotel room. Erza, Grey and Natsu each had their own rooms respectively each one connected to the other. Lucy's room was large much like the other rooms, containing the normal necessities of a hotel suite along with a Jacuzzi and a stray newspaper left by the previous room owner.

The same newspaper that had a headline stating the city of Hepatica was attacked by a large three headed beast, later taken out by an unknown group of people.

Lucy sighed, her hands flattening out the edges of the paper Makarov gave her a while back. Many of the lullabies lay on the page crossed out magically; the only one not covered in streaks of red being The Warm Lullaby. Looking over the page in her mother's book, she stopped at a specific line, her finger indicating the monster Sherry was describing.

"It's a Karkinos, a large crab," She mumbled, somehow thinking about her stellar spirit, Cancer at the same time. Shaking her head out of those thoughts, before she accidentally summoned him, she continued down her mother's article searching for other information. Lucy raised her eyebrow in amusement at certain parts.

'_Now this is interesting…_'

Sherry tilted her head, her rat doing the same at Lucy's happy gestures. Pouting angrily, she waved her hands in the air. "Girl, stop studying that book! My Lyon is missing and we got to kill that damn monster to save my boyfriend!" She screeched, her hands landing flat on the carpeted floor. She then leaned towards Lucy who looked perturbed.

With a sigh, Lucy shut the book. Being civil towards the girl who Lucy knew hated her was quite hard to do, as she recalled many moments where Sherry's dolls attacked her.

"Yes I know…but…we can't _kill_ it. We could only return it back to its normal form," She pointed to the parchment with the lullabies, specifically at the morning star. "That's the only thing we can do to stop it besides sealing it, which I _can't _do without the spell." She finished with finality, her finger now tapping at a part of Layla's book, which had a huge ripped page.

"I thought searching for _anything_ that could stop it quicker would help." Lucy added quietly, her hand running down the spine of the book.

Sherry frowned, disgruntled.

"We might end up destroying a lot of things…" Erza muttered, knowing what Makarov would do if he heard a place like Ambrosia went off the map. He'd keel over then and there.

"We're going to have a reenactment of Poppy?" Grey questioned from his post.

"Possibly." Lucy replied, a grim expression on her face at the thought.

"Heh," Natsu chuckled as heads turned to the dragon slayer. "Still, we just got to knock it out right?"

Heads nodded. One seemed frustrated at the idea.

Natsu sniffled, rubbing his nose. His mouth curled in a grin. "Well then….let's get the party started! That beast's going down, Fairy Tail style!"

* * *

"Oh god…." He moaned, as the jet ski bobbed up and down in the waves of the Fiore Sea. He slacked against Grey's back, drooling, as they got closer to an island not too far from Ambrosia's coast.

Sherry from Angelica's back pointed to the island, directing Team Natsu to dock there.

Finally off the water, Natsu slumped onto the sand, which felt more like large rocks rather than the soft sand of Ambrosia. Grey frustrated at the dead weight he had to carry, dragged it further up the rock like beach to more grassy land where Lucy and Erza awaited them.

Happy fluttered down from the air before Lucy, handing her the book.

Sherry and Angelica plopped down as well. The Lamia Scale puppeteer sat on Anglica's shoulder, her eyes a bit distant as she looked into a far direction. Her small hand rose and pointed ahead.

"We were told that it came from here, on Anemone Isle. It attacked us a bit farther up from here and Hibiki and Lyon fell into an underground cavern. The Karkinos fell in as well…but it was still alive from what I saw. Fire plumed out of the holes. They're not hard to miss…" She trailed off, giving a small pat to Angelica. With a stream of chatter, she went back into the air.

"Hey wait!" Cried Lucy, aiming to reach for the rat. "Aren't you coming with us?"

Angelica stopped. Sherry looked down at Lucy and shook her head.

"If Lyon's dead…there's no way I'll be able to live with that. I'd rather hope he was alive than believe he was _gone._ So please…find him for me. Bring him _home._" With her last words, Angelica fluttered further away, glimmering tears sliding down Sherry's cheeks.

Lucy clenched her outreached hand bringing it to her side. With the nod of her head, the group began their trek into the forests of Anemone Isle.

* * *

Anemone Isle was covered in trees and shrubbery, rich with the colors of deep purples and blues. It was as if the place was covered in an night glow, despite the sun peaking through the high treetops above them. An occasional squawk of a bird would break the silence of the place…along with Happy's humming and growling stomach.

The sound of cascading water rushed to their ears as they trekked further. Natsu hurrying forward, quickly found himself before a ravine, a strange scene surrounded by rocks and a plethora of black lilies.

"Wasn't there supposed to be a hole in the ground here?" Lucy questioned.

Grey sighed and walked a bit away from the group to following the ravine, for the smell of the black lilies were quite annoying to his nose. "Maybe it's over—agh!" He yelled, his feet feeling the floor break beneath him, dropping him into complete darkness.

"Grey!" Erza, Lucy and Natsu called, each of them heading over to the hole before they each fell into the hollow ground.

Happy, confused, quickly dived in to follow them. His tail barely engulfed by the hole as it swallowed him.

* * *

A woman with long black hair stood in the fire light, held by another being. Her eyes lay on two males, one clutching his arm in sleep while the other lay limp against the other male's side with a huge gash across his leg. She tilted her head suddenly at the sound of screaming. A pleasant smile adorned her face.

"…We have visitors."

The fire bearer fidgeted the light casting on him as he turned a torch. A small tattoo of a thorned heart visible on his cheek shined as the fire cast itself on the orange ink.

"What do you want me to do Ultear?"

A smile adorned the woman's face, her long fingernails clawing at the glass orb in her palm.

"Let them find their friends…and the lullaby."

Eyes widened, and a mouth sputtered. "W-what? Are you kid—"

Ultear narrowed her eyes. "You heard what I said."

With an angry sigh, the fire bearer sifted through his cloak, pulling out a yellowed piece of parchment. Silver writing smeared upon it. His voice echoed through the cavern, a mist of magic flowing with every word.

Ultear frowned, placing her orb onto the ground to quickly throw an object down into a cavern.

The fire bearer's torch was next to fly into the dark.

From what they could see, a shadow grew, taking the form of a crustacean. It's roar echoing through the island's caverns.

* * *

"—Hey" A masculine voice called.

Lucy winced, her arm scratched up from the slide down into the cavern. She blinked, her head a bit jumbled at the drop. She remembered Grey falling into a hole and then they followed. Where was everyone?

"Crap…I should've checked if this place was magic or something—"

"Princess?" A voice rung out, as a hand reached out to her in the dark.

"Stop calling me—Loki?" She stopped in her complaint realizing whom she was talking to. Her hand ran across his face and her finger grazed his lips as she tried to see if it was really him.

His hands grazed across her arms, as he chuckled into her ear.

"Interesting greeting hun…why are you down here of all places?"

"I-I don't know. Grey fell and then…" She trailed off, unable to see anything. "Can you...?" She mumbled, requesting light.

"Uh...if I recall, I'll blind you for the next 24 hours? So yea, not possible," In the dark he scratched his head. "Why not call that unicorn of yours?"

'_Oh I forgot.'_

She paused, shuffling for her keys trying to recall the exact shape and form of the Monoceros gate. For sure, it had a spiral tip to it and the horse's head replaced the head of the key.

'_Ah ha!'_

Lifting the key ring up, she twisted, watching the glimmer and streams of white magic before a loud pop echoed in the cavern.

The clacking of hooves was evident along with the snorting of a horse.

'…_?'_

"Good gosh—It is extremely dark in here!" Cero whinnied.

"No shit Sherlock." Loki grumbled, angry at the horse. Maybe suggesting the unicorn was not a good idea. He had forgotten how pompous the animal was.

"Excuse me Leo, you _ignorant_ feline! Honestly the nerve of animals the likes of you!"

"Watch me make mince meat of your rear you stubborn jackass!"

"How _dare _you! I'm a Unicorn!"

Lucy face palmed. "Cero, I'm sorry to summon you like this, but _please_ light our way."

A silence cut through the bickering in the dark.

Cero snorted. "Fine. Fine then. As long as your _lion _does not touch my coat."

Lucy blinked, her eyes fluttering as light streamed into her eyes past the sunglasses still situated upon her face. Looking around, she realized how high of a fall she had looking above her at the hole. Cero stood before her, realizing where they really were and began trotting around to get a better look. He blared past Loki, blinding him as he rubbed at his eyes.

He looked quite different without his glasses.

"So your eyes _aren't _blue…." She mumbled as she stared at him. He caught her gaze.

"…but yours _are_…with my glasses." He replied, amused by the sight of her wearing them. So, _that's _where they had gone!

Hearing his comment, she quickly took them off and offered them back to him.

Loki shook his head.

"Don't worry. They look cute on you." He winked causing Lucy to smile softly before she smacked him on the arm in embarrassment.

"Let's get out of here…then maybe we could talk about other things." She said before calling over Cero so they can travel through the tunnels.

"Just _talk_? Why not continue with that night at—ow!" He cried as she punched him.

"Y-you're insufferable!"

"I love you too~"

* * *

"…_Ouch."_

"Erza? Erza is that you?"

"Yeah...it's me Natsu," Erza hissed, pulling herself up off the rocky floor. A spike of pain shot up her arm. It was movable but it hurt like a bitch. "I think I dislocated my arm." With a scowl, she popped back the shoulder, emitting a small cry. At least the pain was ebbing.

"Where is Grey? Happy? Lucy?" Natsu wondered, lighting a fire in his palm. A dull light was streaming from one of the caverns and getting closer. The other was dark and a rumbling was echoing from it.

Voices were coming from the lit hall, the light coming closer every second. It was the sound of hooves and whispering voices.

"Who are you?" Natsu yelled over to the light, causing it to stop for a moment and only to increase in speed. The clattering of the hooves increased in volume.

"Natsu—" Erza scolded, unsure if the light was even friendly.

"Natsu?" Lucy called, along with Cero and Loki. She quickly launched herself at him in a hug. "Thank goodness you're all okay…Natsu?" She questioned, noticing how stiff he was under her grip.

Natsu's eyes were furious at the male behind her. Loki seemed to catch on. Their eyes never wavered from the other.

Natsu finally understood why Lucy seemed so different, the blue sunglasses were blatantly obvious.

Lucy looked between the two while Erza shook her head. She noticed tense standoff building between the two testosterone driven men. Lucy stood oblivious.

"As much as I'd love to see you guys fight it out, we have to find Grey," Erza snorted, grabbing Natsu out of Lucy's grip. "Lucy, keep _Loki_ with _you._"

Natsu growled at the command.

Lucy nodded automatically not understanding what just happened. Tugging on Loki's cuffs, she pulled him along, soon realizing his hand tightly wound against hers.

"C'mon…we got to find the lost sheep."

* * *

The said lost sheep was scrambling about.

The roaring of fire behind him was not a pleasant sign. However, he did find the two lost mages. Hibiki and Lyon were with him being pushed along in a transmutated ice cart. All in the meanwhile the trio were under the attack of a strange crab like being chasing them around.

"What the fuck!" He yelled as the Karkinos roared, its large claw hitting the ceiling. He mentally smacked himself for deciding to look around and then fall into a pit, right before a huge-ass fucking crab that breathed fire.

He so was going to take a vacation after this.

Honestly he was getting lucky as he ran through the caverns, barely any light guiding him except for now and then the beast breaking through the caverns and letting light stream in.

But there was this strange light coming closer, with the sound of thundering hooves.

"…_Grey!"_ Voices yelled to him.

He widened his eyes in recognition as he sped to them; Lucy mounted on Cero as she wielded the Sweet Lullaby pausing to launch a few arrows at the Crab and Natsu, Erza and Loki dashing forward immediately as they began to make haste with returning the beast to its morning star state.

Cero whinnied as he stopped before Grey sniffing the unconscious mages in the ice cart. "Why in heavens—are those humans _dead?"_

"Hush Cero…." Lucy patted before dismounting. "Grey go help, I'll take care of these guys." She smiled, not wanting to get involved here anymore. There was something else she was deeply concerned with, a specific someone who wasn't with them.

"But—"

"Don't worry, I'll handle them!" She grinned, telling Cero to place them onto his back. Reluctantly he did so before Lucy led Cero to get out of the tunnels.

* * *

It was havoc. The ceilings were crumbling at the chaos happening in the caverns. Lucy panted as she ran with Cero through the caves her mind boggled with the layout of the place. It was a maze full of twists and turns and ridiculous to go through if one didn't have a map. If only she was able to go through all the tunnels at once…..

"Wait, Cero stop." She commanded to the Unicorn, causing him to cock his head aside with the weight upon his back.

"Hurry up Mistress Lucy, this is hard on me…and on you." He replied, referring to the magic Loki and Cero were drawing from her.

She waved it off. True she was a bit winded but that didn't faze her. She needed to use this key. It was a fox head key, the teeth replaced with three foxtails.

'_Open! Door to the Fox…'_

"Vulpecula!" She yelled, turning the fox key, summoning a red fox with three tails. Its smiling eyes greeted Lucy.

"Hello Lucy Heartfilia. It's been quite a while. Once every other week is our contract no?" It spoke, its voice heavy with a French accent.

Lucy nodded. Cero only narrowed his eyes, before shaking his head. He seemed disgusted with every other being besides himself and Lucy.

"Very well then. Pirouette is my name, what shall I help zee with Master Heartfilia?

Lucy smiled, enamored with the cute fox. Patting her head, Lucy asked Pirouette to scout the caverns for an exit along with a certain feline. She hoped one exit led to the ravine. It made sense if the caverns opened into it.

Pirouette bowed her head, her smiling eyes opening as she split into several more foxes. Her three tails merged into one. The clones dashed through the caverns while one fox stayed with them as she sat in concentration listening to the rest of her kin.

"My master…it will take some time—"

The roaring of the Karkinos was getting louder. Heads turned to Pirouette.

Pirouette blinked.

"Okay….maybe a few seconds."

Finally Pirouette's tails returned, and her eyes returned to their normal smiling selves. At the same time, another fox scampered out of a tunnel, holding a certain blue feline in its maw. The cat's large orbs seemed frantic, as it tried to flail while his scruff was held by the fox.

"Lucy? I'm scared…" Happy cowered, looking at the other fox, which was certainly much larger than him. He held the book out as a shield hoping not to be eaten.

Lucy reassured him that was not the case as Pirouette's clone placed him in Lucy's hands, grinning all the same.

Then much like the other clones, it disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

Pirouette nodded, spinning into the direction to the ravine. "We can go—" She began only to pivot towards the source of a rumbling noise.

Eyes widened.

'_Oh no…_'

The wall collapsed behind them, revealing the dark blue shell of the Karkinos. Erza stationed on its shell drove several of her swords into the beast while it collapsed into the ground from a high kick supplied by Loki and his Regulus magic. Natsu and Grey, sliding beneath the large crab, blasted its legs all in one fluid motion.

"W-what?" She looked agape. The caves shaking harder at the damage created.

'_It got here so fast!'_

"Master Heartfilia! We must go! Safety yes?" Pirouette cried, nodding in fear before dashing into the caverns to the exit. Cero followed after, holding to his mission of caring for the unconscious mages upon his back.

Lucy looked divided, wondering what she should do. The beast was still alive and kicking, looking as if it wouldn't turn into its morning star form anytime soon. She hesitated, revealing her bow once more aiming for the eyes of the Karkinos.

"Lucy don't!" Loki yelled as he dodged a claw barreling down on him. "Just get out of here!"

"Yea Luce! We got this bastard!" Natsu growled, blocking fire with fire.

With a sigh, she nodded, following down the lit path the noise dulling behind her. They told her to run, it was what they wanted right? They were fine….they were all fine….

'_Fuck it. They're not fine.'_

She turned around immediately running back, her energy depleting. It didn't seem like it was a good idea, but who was there to scold her? However before she could travel any further, she leaped back at the sound of crumbling rock.

She saw the faces of her friends fighting in the cavern, she saw the sparks of metal hitting rock, fire clashing with fire and ice melting away into a cool haze.

And she saw the shocked faces (and wished they saw her own,) as the cave opening collapsed before her.

* * *

Fin~ Ch.8

* * *

A/N: And I am back! From an extended vacation which never existed!

I thank you all for everything as always, and I am thankful for the comments and suggestions.

I do apologize however for my extended absence, as I know it wasn't just related to school work. (honestly, I don't have a test every single day, that's ridiculous.) Mainly it was plot-wise, since I had to rewrite several points of it, as those said points had holes in them along with the fact that they were _improbable_.

That along with my little mind wandering into new fascinations, the need for more research (Which does constitute a lot of this story. Go ahead and find the underlying meanings of almost every single thing in here!), growing plot bunnies for other stories (Gosh these little ones are rabid!) and whatnot have bogged me down.

Oh and strangely, I've been more accustomed to calling Lucy and Loki as one being instead of two: Luki, Locy etc. My sister who doesn't know much about Fairy Tail, but knows the pairing, thought it was funny as I jumbled up their names in normal conversation.

So yes, I hope the chapter was satisfying! I'll be writing soon. (Sticks the normal 'Please Review' comment here.)


	9. 1:9:Road to Nowhere

Hey everyone! Chapter 9 is here :). Thanks for all the current reviews, its fun to read them and know I'm not alone out here! ^-^

So enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER STILL APPLIES**

* * *

Ch 9: Road to Nowhere

* * *

"Oh shit." Grey cursed, noticing the caving walls. Despite their magical ability to repair themselves, the Karkinos was dealing so much damage it was crumbling everything.

It was remaking the caverns.

'_Damn magical island! The whole thing's cursed!'_

Walls were reforming, making new paths and more dead ends. It was a messed up interpretation of Midos' Labyrinth, with a huge minotaur replaced with a fire breathing crab.

It didn't seem like the crab was going to _die_ though.

Erza paused, running towards a cavern wall as the crab followed her down, its fire blasting against the rock. The heat was unbearable as it grazed past her.

With a heavy blow to the side, the beast was launched into Erza's direction, her eyes widened before she ducked aside, seeing the beast blast out of the wall. A dull light streamed in along with the sound of rushing water.

Loki looked at the Karkinos, which struggled to get back up. Parts of its legs the cavern lay encased with the stone.

The gaping hole in the wall was closing.

Looking to his side, he narrowed his eyes at the mended wall where Lucy had fled into. He had seen a glimpse of her come back only to disappear behind a curtain of rock. He knew she was going to come back, knowing her tendency to help her spirits; he frowned at the idea though.

'_She'd better be alright...' _

"Loki!" Erza yelled over to the spirit, her Black Wing Armor encasing her form as she ran to the hole understanding it was going to seal itself up. Grey followed suit while Natsu was already outside, burning the crab incessantly with fireballs.

He nodded, chasing after her before leaping onto the shell of the crab. Slipping through, Loki saw a glimpse of the inner caverns before the rock healed, pinning down the Karkinos in the ravine.

* * *

Lucy panted, as she splashed through ankle high water. Cero and Pirouette treading water as well as they reached the ravine. Happy who was in Lucy's grip fluttered out of her hands into the air.

The screeching of the Karkinos seemed louder despite them getting out of the caverns.

"Master…it's the monster." Pirouette mewled, her head turned to the large object blocking the ravine in the distance.

"I assume we can't go that way then… since that _incorrigible beast_ is blocking that direction." Cero snorted, moving forward slowly finding the water crawling up to his knees. He whinnied. "I'll be damned! The water's rising!"

'_The water is rising….?'_

"Oh crap, the water's rising." Lucy mumbled her eyes focused on the water.

"Hmph…didn't I say that already? And I thought my Master was intelligent…" Cero scoffed, dragging his hoof against the ravine's rock wall.

Lucy turned, looking for something, anything for them to get out of the ravine. There was no way Cero could climb the walls unless he had claws, which the unicorn needed to somehow grow in the next few minutes.

'_Hm…._'

"Lucy! I can _fly!"_ Happy exclaimed, reminding her about his aera as he fluttered in the air….along with the fact that he was there in general. He waved Lucy's book in the air and quickly placed it into his mouth to keep his hands free.

Lucy face palmed at the sight. How did she forget? With a smile, she helped give Happy Hibiki to stick him in the grass away from the ravine. Sticking him near the ravine might drop him back into the caverns; the magical entrances, they were accustomed to, possibly swallowing him up.

The water was rising quickly, now at Lucy's waist. Pirouette was wading in the water while Cero paled at the water reaching his underbelly.

"Nasty…putrid…liquid…." He mumbled while the weight of Hibiki, and now Lyon, was off his back.

Pirouette coughed as her muzzle accidentally dipped beneath the water line.

They had said no more as Lucy thanked them, dismissing the two as the water continued to increase. Looking up, she could see a small glimpse of Happy's blue fur glide past the ravine to drop off Lyon.

'_Finally….'_

She sighed, as she looked up to see Happy now coming back down quickly. The water was at her chest; her body now was floating in the water.

"Aye Lucy! Grab my paw!" He called, to the wading girl who was strangely floating in one direction. The water was moving, taking her along with it.

She sputtered, swallowing water. Her hand grazed Happy's paw before the sudden pull of the water took her in the direction of the Karkaros.

Happy widened his eyes, speeding after the girl hoping something down the river wouldn't _eat_ her.

* * *

"G-gah! You fucking _idiot_ Natsu!" Loki complained as he drifted down the rushing water.

"Well u-up yours! Fuck you and this water!" Natsu retorted as he tried to swim against the tide.

The Krakinos exploded in a large puff of smoke, after Loki blinded it allowing Erza to pierce its tender spots with her two hundred swords and Natsu following up with a final Dragon's Roar.

The body of the beast however was plugging up a natural reservoir of water, causing it along with the dammed water to flood out, rushing through the ravine. Now the group of them were speeding through water to places unknown.

"Damnit! If only I could freeze the water!" Grey yelled over the roaring tide. It sped along too fast, his magic would easily shatter if he tried anything on that large a scale.

"Fuck the water, freeze _us!"_

"Natsu!" Erza cried reaching out to the dragon slayer as her armor weighed her down along with the large morning star gripped tightly in one of her hands.

"Che!" Grey scoffed, clawing the sides of the ravine. "Ice Make: Prison!" He yelled, dragging his palms against the rock. A sudden line of ice bars appeared, above the water, supported by the ravine's walls. The prison then finished off with a ceiling, shadowing the group in the ravine. They collided harshly with each other as they smacked into Grey's ice.

"How the hell are we getting out now you idiot!" Natsu scoffed, quite annoyed with the lion pressed against his side and Erza's hand in his own.

"Ice Make: Ladder!" His voice rang out once more, making the bars riding up the wall. Grey held on as he placed his footing onto the ice and moved upward. He looked smugly down at Natsu in the water.

"...damn you."

* * *

"H-happy!" Lucy cried, her grip upon his paws slipping as he tried to lift her out of the rushing water.

"Aye…Lucy hold on!" He struggled, his wings flapping harshly as he tried to lift her against the tide.

The water was dragging the both of them, as the turned through the ravine. Lucy flinched as she grazed the side of the walls. She blinked, noticing she just passed something very cold.

"Hey look! Is that Happy…?"

"Lucy!"

The voices faded out as Happy finally pulled her out of the water, his passenger and his tail, sopping wet.

She sighed in relief, feeling much like a wet cat as Happy clung to her hands pulling her onto a nearby grass patch. He dropped down along with her.

"Ahaa!" Happy puffed at his tail, cold and wet. He didn't expect the female to hug him tightly right after landing.

"Thank You Happy!" Lucy cried, cradling the cat. "I owe you _a lot_ of fish for this."

"A-aye Lucy…we're nakama. But fish is nice too!" He chuckled before noticing the girl had suddenly let her go.

Lucy met face to face with a pair of black eyes, realizing the world wasn't all blue—she had lost Loki's glasses.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Loki questioned immediately, taking the girl into his hands as he inspected her, checking certain parts of her body a bit longer than necessary.

"Yeah…yeah Loki I'm—don't touch that!" She blushed angrily, punching him again. He hissed, praying he didn't get another bruise. Lucy immediately noticing his pain, apologized profusely.

"If she's able to do that, I'm _sure _she's fine Loki." Erza commented from behind, wiggling her breastplate to pour out some water.

"You never know…she might've gotten hurt somewhere…" He murmured, giving her another look.

"H-hey! I told you _don't touch that!"_

"OW!"

Natsu stayed silent, watching the whole exchange. Grey smirked before shaking his head, heading over to where Happy had said he dropped of Lyon, Hibiki and Layla's book.

* * *

"Hm…so here they are…Ultear was right as always_._" A male rolled his eyes, finding the bodies of Hibiki and Lyon. However his interest was not in the two mages, but the book that laid flat on Hibiki's chest. His eyes narrowed in scrutiny at the leather-bound object.

"Layla's Book. Now that's something I haven't seen for _such a long time_." He mused, reaching down to pick it up. He paused however at the rustling of the bushes. With lidded eyes, the male fled back into the forest, leaving the book open.

Grey appeared through the foliage, finally finding the two. Preparing to get them back to Ambrosia, he couldn't help but wonder why the book on Hibiki's chest was open…that along with a strange silver rod holding the page.

* * *

"So my dear guests, welcome to Blue Pegasus, where we're not just beautiful, but downright gorgeous!" Bob chuckled, waving them into the hall.

Lucy blushed furiously pressing deeper into her towel. Erza was ignoring it all with her face turned aside.

It was strange stepping into a foreign guild, especially that of Blue Pegasus. It was full of men and, for those males of her group, women. She couldn't help but sigh at Grey's exhibitionist tendencies as he streaked across the mess hall. A few of the girls seemed impressed at the sight.

Natsu was being treated like a king, yet being oblivious to it all seemed enough to get the girls to understand he was _not interested_. Lucy wondered if anything interested him.

'_Obviously you Lucy Heartfilia. He's been watching you…and Loki.'_

She frowned, fumbling with Loki's key on her ear.

The lion spirit only stayed shortly, finding himself as popular here compared to Fairy Tail. He quickly left to get new clothes, and possibly ask Virgo to lend Lucy some as well. Lucy hoped it wasn't anything to _revealing_ despite how much Loki wanted them to be. He had competition here in this horse stable.

Lifting herself up, she moved to open a nearby door. Inside slept Hibiki, undergoing treatment with several bandages by a Healing Mage. Lyon was beside him, awake and talking to Sherry whose eyes were puffy, indicating she had cried some time before. Angelica sat in the corner, nibbling hungrily on a cheese wheel gifted by Ren Akatsuki. Lucy stayed long enough to see Lyon hugged tightly by Sherry and hear her cry again.

Closing the door shut, she walked to another room. It belonged to her and Erza. Bob gave it to them so they could rejuvenate before returning to Fairy Tail. In the room lay The Warm Lullaby wrapped on the floor, muffled by heavy cloth.

Looking over a desk, Lucy found a set of clothing obviously from Virgo beside her mother's book. A note was left along with the clothes:

_Will be back in a bit, here are your clothes Princess._

_They aren't that bad are they?_

_I think they would look ravishing on you._

_~Loki._

_PS. I added something to the ensemble. You could wear it if you want._

Lucy raised an eyebrow at the dress that she held before her. It was a blue-collared white dress, with a gold ribbon frill on the neck and bottom hem, which rested mid thigh. Three gold buttons ran down past the frill as mere accessory, each one a lion head button. One more ribbon was visible on the dress as a belt, tied at the side.

Along with the dress, several earrings (which she ignored for her normal accessories), hair ribbons and some heels stretched across the desk along with a very familiar set of blue sunglasses.

"Hm…" Lucy tapped at her chin, amused.

* * *

"Now _that's_ something I'd like to see in this guild," Bob whistled as he glanced over to a blonde beauty walking steadily down the stairs. "A girl who knows her stuff. Unlike some of these girls here—still greenhorns." He frowned.

"What I would do for a girl like her…." Bob mused pleasantly clapping his hands. A few of the Blue Pegasus males at the bar twitched at the idea of their guild leader being with someone like Lucy.

"She's dating someone actually." Erza murmured into a glass of wine. Her red satin dress adjusted as she swiveled in her chair.

A fountain of beer erupted from the bar table, courtesy of Grey and Natsu.

"WHAT?"

"Luce's d-dating someone?" Natsu stuttered, his eyes wide as saucers. Happy upon the bar paused in his gorging on a fish feeling not so hungry anymore. He frowned.

'_Natsu…'_

"Meh…and I'm guessing this _isn't _a secret?" Grey scoffed, still annoyed that someone knew about his relationship with Jubia.

Erza thought about it before shaking her head. "Grey, you should know…after all you walked in on them making out." She responded over the rim of her glass.

Natsu felt a cold wind pass him.

Grey could only sputter. "_Loki?_!" He fell forward, holding onto the edge of the bar. "Loki's courting her?" Damn, and he thought he saw the obvious. They were always together, and he always thought it was just business.

'_Guess not.'_

Natsu hissed, upset with the conversation happening around him. The glass in his hands cracked before shattering in his grip, shocking Bob and the few others near him. Lifting himself off the chair, he shoved past a few of the Blue Pegasus members before moving out to the front for some fresh air.

Happy only looked on in worry at his friend, glancing down at his fish then at the door while the two other mages looked at him leave. Finally, he sighed, eating the fish before him with less gusto.

Lucy paused as she approached her teammates to watch Natsu leave. She saw the short flicker of anger when he glanced at her. Why was he upset? Did she do something wrong? Lucy frowned as she fumbled with Loki's key on her ear.

A short whistle cut her out of her thoughts. Turning around she noticed the few lusty stares directed at her courtesy of the Blue Pegasus boys. Gulping, she moved to her friends at the table with guild master Bob. The look on her face gave off her first question.

'_What was that about?'_

"Natsu stormed off when we said you were dating Loki." Grey chimed nonchalantly before taking a sip of his own drink.

"You told him?"

Eyes blinked.

* * *

'_Ah…I'm sorry Lucy..I thought—"_

'_So it was a secret!'_

'—_I mean it was obvious and the whole guild knew…'_

'_Well _most _of the guild knew…'_

'…_except for _Natsu_.'_

Lucy sighed, walking the streets searching for a certain pink haired male. Her heart sunk, feeling like a jagged rock in her chest. She felt extremely sorry about the whole turn of events. She didn't expect to tell anyone really, it was all just a secret. A secret that meant to get out maybe _after _these chains of missions ended.

"Some secret." She scoffed, recalling how easy it was for majority of Fairy Tail to read her and Loki's interactions. Grey's relationship wasn't even realized until she accidentally saw them outside the guild. Lucy gave him kudos for being able to hide it for so long.

Turning a corner, she frowned at the sight of a sitting mage on a bench, his form slumped as his elbows rested against his knees. The pink hair was a dead giveaway.

What was she going to say? Sentences began to turn into a long speech in her mind as she approached the male with caution. He had full rights to be angry with her. They were nakama, and she had hidden something from him, hurting him in the process.

"_What do you want?_" A sharp voice cut through her thoughts.

Lucy widened her eyes, realizing how close she was to him. When the hell did she sit on the bench? The speech she had thought up in her mind had poofed away in the matter of seconds as her mouth opened and closed before deciding it wasn't appropriate to talk at all.

His eyes were piercing, yet pained. He only stared at her before looking away letting a heavy sigh leave his lips.

"Luce," He whispered, "Why_." _

'_Why didn't you tell me?'_

Lucy gulped, feeling her throat was a bit dry. "It wasn't meant to get out this way…Natsu—I _don't know._"

He laughed dryly, a sarcastic smile upon his lips.

"I heard you guys—before I left of course. It didn't _need_ to get out. I'm not that _stupid._"

Lucy widened her eyes. It was then she realized his angry faces, the upset looks he gave her in the guild hall and the random gestures he gave when she was wearing _his glasses._

"Yea. It was obvious Luce. It _really _was. I just didn't want to _believe _it," He murmured, tapping his nose. "Dragon sense. I could tell…since I'm guessing you kinda _did _something but I won't get into that…" He blushed slightly placing a palm over his eyes. Loki's scent was all over her that day; he couldn't help but distance himself from her after realizing it.

'_We didn't do anything!'_ She wanted to yell, but she knew that would only cause more assumptions, more questions.

'_And a shitload of controversies…when the hell did my life become a drama?'_

"….y-you knew?"

He nodded. "It was your privacy though….I guessed waiting for you to tell me was okay—but you never did." He frowned soon realizing there was a hand upon his shoulder.

Looking aside he noticed her apologetic eyes…shaded by those damn glasses. He twitched, shrugging her hand off suddenly.

Lucy winced at the gesture. "Natsu…"

He raised a hand.

"No need Luce. We're _friends _right? So no worries, just get back over there and have fun. I—I'll get over it." He grinned falsely, his smile wavering slightly as he stared at his feet. The lightheartedness that glimmered in his eyes had disappeared. They were cold.

Lucy clenched her hand, the one which had rested only seconds on his shoulder. She felt as if a cast iron had once laid beneath her fingers. Her vision then slid from her hand to him, watching somberly. Was there anything she could do? Anything to say? She sighed deeply as she lifted herself off the bench. She noticed the flicker in his eyes at the lack of pressure beside him.

She licked her lips deciding she had to say something. Bowing slightly, she then whispered a few words into his ear before walking off into the dark, leaving him to ponder what she had said.

Natsu watched as Lucy left, her form fading away. With a scoff he stood up and decided to pace before resting against a black lamp post nearby. His eyes fogged over in thought as the words replayed in his mind. His face was contorting into a grimace.

'_I never meant to forget you.'_

It was then the wooden bench ignited into a fiery glow, casting against the saddened visage of Natsu Dragneel.

* * *

"That book will be the death of you Lucy." Makarov noted to the girl before her. It's been several days since they've been back from Blue Pegasus. She had made frequent visits to the guild since then, coming back and forth to the guild only to read her mother's book. He didn't know why she didn't take the time to just sit at home and read.

Natsu, Happy and Erza ended up going on another mission, Natsu egging them on to get out of the guild. Lucy was offered a spot, but she declined, saying it was better off if she did more research (and having a current savings for her rent helped a lot.). It also gave her time to think about other things.

Information on the Lullabies had trickled down, all of them already crossed off Makarov's map. It was now a form of tug-o-war between Grimorie Hearts and Fairy Tail.

Lucy wondered who was going to strike first.

She shook her head, returning to her normal position of leaning over her book curling a strand of her long hair in one hand while flipping through the book with the other.

"…It's bothering me." She whispered, her voice a light. She sounded tired.

Makarov sighed, "These weapons I'm assuming?"

"Yes." She replied, finally stopping to rub at her eyes. As much as she loved her mother, it was quite difficult to read her handwriting. As the days went on in her book it seemed her handwriting became more frantic…

She stilled, at a certain page, finding the writing to be perfectly legible. Lucy frowned at its familiarity. Makarov tilted his head.

"Have you found something Lucy?"

She furrowed her brow, her finger sliding beneath the title of the entry.

_The Key Maker_

"It's a fairy tale my mother once said to me." Lucy realized, reading it over. She could recall some of it in her head, as her mother used to say it to her every night before she passed away. Lucy couldn't help but smile softly at the nostalgia.

"Layla left a mere fairy tale in her spell book? Now that's strange," Makarov wondered, brushing through his mustache. "Is it just the story Lucy?"

Lucy scanned the story, seeing if there was anything off key about it. It seemed correct, from the wishes Opifex, the Key Maker granted, to the price one usually had to pay. However, one thing looked odd.

There was a small question, written at the end of the story.

_Where will we go?_

Makarov who could actually read the sentence frowned. "Is that a riddle?"

Lucy pondered the question, her eyes flickering back to the tale itself. Why did her mother stick this question here in all places? Did she expect Lucy to read and understand it? Lucy tapped her chin.

'_I do have an idea….'_

"Master, do you have a pen?"

Makarov looked at her in confusion, before sifting through his pockets for anything of the sort. Frowning at not having anything, he raised a hand to give him a minute as he ran off to his room.

The sound of crashing loud objects and the random 'I'm okay!' was heard through the wooden door. Lucy looked around, noticing she wasn't the only one to hear the commotion in the back room.

Finally, he came out wielding a peacock feather pen. The stellar mage raised an eyebrow at the sight of the feather pen, as she has seen them on occasion. Taking it with a small thank you, she held it over a line beneath Layla's question.

"I'm guessing she wants the answer placed here…" Lucy trailed off, hesitant if her response was correct.

Deciding nothing could come of harm of her answer, she scrawled in a few words.

_To the stars._

Both guild leader and stellar mage blinked, as nothing happened. Lucy scowled. Makarov hummed.

"Why those words Lucy?" He questioned, curious with her answer.

Lucy shrugged. "….it was the first thing that popped into my head—"

Suddenly the writing beneath the story gleamed bright silver compared to the black ink the feather pen wrote with. The whole tale, then took on the silver writing and soon enough, letters flew across the pages into new words, new sentences and a certain letter to a certain daughter.

Lucy widened her eyes. Makarov whistled.

"Now that's some fancy book your mother made there….with a written _seal._ Why didn't I think of that?"

The silver writing had begun with a reminding list; specifically what keys signified what stellar spirits and who had contracts with whom. Every name imaginable was written on this list. It began with the diamond keys of the Stellar King and Queen and ended with information on crystal keys, meant for the purest of stellar mage souls.

Names were plentiful under the rankings of the silver keys, while under the gold only twelve existed.

Layla's seal hid an archive of the stellar keys.

Lucy was flabbergasted. Where had she gotten all this information? It was impossible for a stellar mage to know all this, even the platinum keys of the four generals, those keys were mere fairy tales—they didn't exist! Yet there were names of the stars—of the keys….

"T—this is…_what _exactly is this?" Lucy questioned in shock as she continued to read.

Makarov skipped the list entirely, looking over a paragraph written to Layla's daughter. He paused realizing he could only read that it was titled to Lucy.

'_I was never able to read her handwriting anyway…'_

"Lucy. Read that…..It's gibberish to me." He scratched his head, pointing to the silver writing starting with Lucy's name.

Lucy blinked, and slowly looked to the next page, a small note written to her from her mother.

_My Little Lucy…._

_How long is it since I've passed? It must be a while….I wonder how you've grown….._

_I knew you'd be able to understand that question, since _you _were the one that asked it all the time. I had to turn the tables…to see if you were listening of course._

_So my seal was made for you._

_This tale—this bedtime story—is real honey. Opifex, is real Lucy. She told me everything you see on that list. I had wished for that knowledge in exchange for my key—my soul key. A just price to pay I assume, having a wonderful life and wonderful daughter like you. She also told me she had helped create the lullabies meant to seal a great dark mage, and somehow they had drifted into our world. Someone had brought them here and so I was called upon to seal them._

_So if you are reading this….then something is wrong._

_The lullabies must still be out there still…and there is little you can do to stop it. As I said Opifex is real, and she will grant a wish. Summon her. Summon her and destroy those keys._

_Make sure that mage does not. come. back._

_Gather the Golden Court—you know what that means._

_Lucy….I love you and I'll see you again in the stars._

_I promise._

'_Mama' Layla Heartfilia_

"….Mama?" Lucy whispered, finding her cheeks wet with tears. Some of them had gathered onto the page, staining it along with other marks left behind by her mother. Had she expected this to happen? Why write such a letter? Lucy frowned, rereading the letter for a second time, her expression more worrisome and grim.

Makarov questioned the contents of the passage.

"Mama…she just gave us a lead." Lucy realized, telling Makarov. Her eyes drifted to the list of the Golden Keys.

The Ecliptic Zodiac.

"I never thought I'd be able to do this but….I need to get all these keys." Lucy pointed to the list of golden keys, majority of them titled to her in contract. However all the keys were under some form of contract already. She raised an eyebrow at a silver name. "Whose Amery Burke?" She questioned out loud, noticing the person's name having contracts with Capricorn, Libra and Pisces.

Makarov smiled, knowing that name.

"Ah him….he's a mage, from Quatro Cerberus. Goldmine knows him pretty well—sees him as a little prodigy of the sorts. I'm guessing you want to head out there?"

Lucy nodded. Determined to get rid of these things once and for all. No need for her mother's seals, by just calling Opifex they could stop Zeref from even coming back!

"This needs to end."

"Very well then," Makarov muttered, his eyes shifty. "You'll leave in the morning, I'll give Goldmine a heads up on your arrival. The others will be back by the time you depart….I'll tell them were you've gone."

* * *

Makarov sighed, taking a puff out of a pipe as he settled himself upon the railing of the second floor to watch the exuberant faces of his guild members. He sighed, realizing about half of these happy faces did not know what was occurring behind the scenes.

Lucy wandered in a few minutes ago along with Loki clinging to her waist possessively. Making the many around them catcall and whistle at the sight. Makarov sighed, a small smile on his face as the stellar mage waved goodbye, giving her best wishes before she walked back out the door.

'_At least these few know what they're doing…keeping everyone else out of it was a good idea…'_

Feeling a trickle of magic behind him, he angled his head.

"….Your game is becoming dangerous," Makarov muttered, pulling the pipe out of his mouth and resting it against the wood railing. "I'll need you to drop the mission soon. This might be over sooner than we think."

Green unruly hair bounced as the male's head shook. A thin slender figure stood behind Makarov, his fingers twirling a metal rod the length of his hand.

"…I'm afraid I cannot do that, Sir."

Makarov turned, seeing the form of another Fairy Tail mage, his tattoo evident on his cheek. The small orange fairy was right below his eye.

"Why not?" Makarov questioned, his eyes narrowed.

The green haired male, walked forward, his form slouching slightly with every step. Reaching the railing, he leaned over, peering at the happy guild faces and waving occasionally.

Makarov stiffened staring in the opposite direction, reaching for his pipe tensely. "…Yoric, this is not optional. I'm _taking _you off this covert mission. Grimoire Heart will fall soon enough. Zeref will not be summoned."

Grey eyes peeked beneath Yoric's eyelids. The stony features of the man looked at ease, as he stopped the rod weaving through his fingers to thumb at it. "…Your part of my mission may be over then." He chimed, his voice light. "But Grimoire's has only _begun."_ He chuckled, his tone becoming darker.

Makarov turned his head aside, his eyes wide. "What have you _told _them? This was nothing more than an insertion and information mission—has your cover been blown?" He whispered angrily towards the mage beside him.

Yoric only put a finger in his ear, pulling out wax, and flicking it off the balcony. His eyes leered aside towards the Fairy Tail Master. A creepy smile grew onto his face.

"There was never any cover."

"_What?_ Don't be ridiculous! Yoric—"

"They already know about Lucy. They know about The Warm, Sweet and Bloody Lullabies. They know _everything_. Tell me, _Sir,_ why did you put me on this mission?"

"You, _Yoric Lombardi,_ were one of the best—and still are. Layla would've been ecstatic to see her teammate help finish off Grimorie. Hearing this from you now…why? You're treading on forbidden grounds son….I'm not liking where this is going."

"You shouldn't. Grimorie Heart has a personal message for you."

"_And what would that be?"_

Yoric paused and with a sigh, he pushed off the railing, moving farther from the vision of those below. Turning back to face Makarov, he smiled. Raising his hand, his fingers snapped.

Quickly his body contorted to that of a young woman, green hair becoming long and raven colored. In her hand was a glass orb, replacing that of the metal rod belonging to Yoric.

Makarov widened his eyes.

"…..keep your decrepit nose out of our _business."_

* * *

Fin~ Ch. 9

* * *

…now the conversation that Ultear and Makarov had, was actually intended to have a third person in it (i.e. Yoric.). However it felt weird just sticking him there...well not in the ways I introduced him above, but as a standalone. Since then I couldn't fathom how Ultear got there in the first place other than posing as a girl bent on bearing his babies. Now that doesn't really make sense with the character I thought him up as. (Oh, the idea just makes me laugh.)

So with a few tweaking, it grew into that last scene, where we see Grimoire Heart actually attacking Fairy Tail.

Therefore, Yoric was removed (partially) from this chapter, and will not be further described until later….along with the return of familiar faces.

Oh, and an extra little thing: I'm guessing you guys already understand the fact that the Exceed arc had never happened before my time skip which led to this story. It sticks a wrench into many of my plans. So yeah…I don't think I said it previously, but that arc _does not exist in this storyline at all _just to make it official_._

…Although I did want to play on that Virgo/Loki sibling thing.

Oh well.

Review if you please or if not, go ahead and bother me with questions (I love em' to bits!)!


	10. 1:10:Comprehension

**DISCLAIMER APPLIES**

* * *

Ch 10: Comprehension

'_I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.' –Confucius_

* * *

Immediately hands rose to the occasion, launching from Makarov's body to pin the slender female against the wall. Makarov furious, clenched his fist and gathered the girl into a tight grip to pull her forward.

At the same time, the orb once tight in the woman's hand had slipped from her grasp. She showed little sign of attachment to the object as it rolled off to the side, nestling between the railing of the 2nd floor. Her face was only that of pure amusement at the events before her.

"Where is Yoric? What have you done with him?" Makarov growled, threatening to crush the woman right then and there.

" You, _Makarov_ one of the Wizard Saints, shouldn't worry about a simple mage like Yoric... Instead, you should worry about the ones around you." She chortled, stopping abruptly as pressure increased on her midsection. She flinched, arching inward at the twinge of pain.

"They are in no danger in this guild."

"A-are you sure about that?" She mumbled. Her vision shifted from Makarov to something behind him.

Makarov narrowed his eyes at the woman in his grasp, noticing the flicker of movement in her cruel orbs. Glancing aside, he realized something was floating.

The voices of the guild members below him drifted up to the second floor discussing the strange object.

"_Hey look! What's that?"_

"_Mira-chan…did you leave the closet to the enchanted objects open again?_

"_No no, Bisca I'm sure I closed it…now where's that key?"_

"_Charle! It's floating!"_

"_Wendy aren't you use to this already? Didn't you see what happened last week?"_

"_Mou…but…"_

"_Levy—"_

"_I'm not finding anything about this in my books…"_

"_Woah! It's getting bigger…!"_

"…_.pfft!"_

"_Seriously Jet? That thing ain't as big as—"_

"_Don't. Don't even think of finishing that sentence."_

The woman broke out into hysterical giggles. "Your guild? These are your mages? How pitiful!" She cackled, her voice dropping to a lower key.

"Let's see the look on their faces when that pretty little ball _explodes._"

Makarov paled realizing what she intended to do with the object. He also realized it wasn't just any orb, but it was a type of explosive lacrima. Immediately his hands, tightened around the woman, slacked and his form turned to lunge off the balcony, reaching to force the orb out of the air.

'_NO!'_

The woman behind him now with much more freedom, grasped for the air, her orb in sight, and clenched her fist.

"_Bye-bye _sweetheart_._"

It felt like hours passed as a change occurred in the faces who were so amused at the supposedly innocent sight. They had dropped so quickly into expressions of horror as glass rained from the sky, along with their guild leader falling from the second floor.

Screams then echoed throughout the mess hall, people scrambling out of the way, others dropping to the floor writhing. A few lucky ones tried to help those who were caught in the downpour.

Mirajane scrambled from behind the bar counter, rushing to Makarov's aid, his chest pierced with several of the dagger-like shards from trying to prevent the lacrima from hurting everyone. With shaky hands, she reached out to pull the less dangerous ones, only to find herself hit with foreign magic radiating from the glass. She hissed, clutching her hand in pain.

Others found themselves hit by the same force as they tried to remove the shards from themselves and each other.

"M-master! Master! Everyone's hurt—w-we must get Porlyuisca! " Mirajane cried, noticing many of the guild members either hiding or trying their hardest to pull the shards despite their destructive attributes. As she was about to leave, Makarov's hand clutched at her skirt, his other pointing weakly at the balcony he had fallen from.

Mira looked up, realizing there was someone up there who _didn't belong_. Her eyes looked on warily at the woman who suddenly curled her lips in a proud sneer. Mira recalled that Yoric was up there recently…where had he gone? Why was that _woman_ up there?

More tugging on her skirt made her realize there was something off with the lady smiling eerily above them. Looking down, she saw Makarov mouthing something she tried her hardest to understand. His breath was airy, yet the sound was loud enough for her to hear.

"_Grimoire..."_

Finally understanding, something snapped inside her. Her head shot up immediately her eyes glaring down the known Grimoire Heart member.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

* * *

Wendy cried, shaking Charle who had gone unconscious after blocking a few shards after the explosion. Much like the others Wendy had tried the more straightforward approach and attempted to pull the shards with no luck. Her hands burned immediately on contact.

Wiping the tears out of her face, she concentrated and placed her hand once more onto the shard on Charle's shoulder.

'_Please! Charle…'_

Dark magic sparked, licking against the girl's arm. Yet, the young Dragon Slayer persisted in tugging the thing out. Finally the shard had come out, its chaotic magic dying as it left Charle's shoulder. The cat's face was calmer than previously, her pained expression lessened by the one fewer shard.

Wendy sighed; a bit more at ease seeing that it was _possible_ to get them out at all. Once more did she concentrate, trying to remove the last of Charle's shards.

Around her, other mages were trying their hardest to remove any of the shards in their friends. Gajeel being more frustrated than a few others growled as he forcefully pried the shard out of his side. He then pushed Jet and Droy away to get to the unconscious Levy they were tending to horribly.

Others were more cautious as they tried to approach the other problem: the foreign woman on the balcony and Mirajane.

Her form was rabid as she shot across the hall, launching into the second floor balcony. In her demon form she swiped at the raven haired woman.

"Ah ha! So there are the claws! Come, come faeries!" She mused, sidestepping the swipe. The slightest touch of her fingers against wood, as she retaliated, shattered objects her due to lost magic.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Mira roared. Her mind was clouded by nothing but anger for her friends as she ricocheted through the guildhall. Close enough to who she thought as a threat, her fist crashed into the wooden banister causing debris to fly.

Wendy ducked, her hair rustling at the speed of the wood crashing against the wall. Looking afar, she realized where everything stemmed from.

Makarov was wheezing angrily, his eyes focused and yet fogged as he tried his hardest to watch the commotion around him. His form shook terribly as he tried lifting himself up.

Wendy gasped, her hands immediately going to her lips in a shocked awe before stumbling to her feet dodging the mess and chaos of what was Mira.

"Master, please…don't get up!" She yelled over as she skid too her knees, her hand pressuring him to lean against a fallen barrel.

He could only blink in recognition, his lips mouthing 'Porlyusica', something the girl could only nod at, despite her not knowing what he was even saying. The only thing that mattered to her was trying to heal him.

She sweated, noticing the tremendous amount of shards piercing his hands and chest. She quickly put two and two together after recalling him lunge mid-air for the large wrecking-ball sized orb right before hit exploded.

'_He tried to protect us!'_ Her mind racked. Her eyes racing to the image of disaster around her. She shook her head, trying to focus on the person in front of her. She knew her magic could help him…only if these jagged glass rods were removed.

Gulping, she tapped at the closet shard, it reacting violently making the Guild Master shudder at the shock.

"M-master…I —I don't know what to do!" She cried, afraid her attempt to pull one out could cause more pain to the elder.

Again the mouthed name fell from his lips, she paled.

'_W-what is he saying?'_

Suddenly a shadow cast over her.

"Poh…lee…err…see...ca?" A rough voice above answered. Looking up Wendy realized the hunched form of the Metal Dragon Slayer had succeeded in reading Makarov's lips.

The faint smile on Makarov's face told them everything.

Gajeel frowned, leaning over Makarov as he plucked the few spears he could see without causing the guild master to bleed out. He responded little to the slight moans of pain as the chaotic glass sparked angrily.

Wendy could only frown deeply, wondering when it was appropriate to intervene and treat the wounds.

Gajeel hissed, finally realizing the young girl hadn't moved at all.

"Girl! Didn't you hear me? Get this Pohlersecah person over here! The old man's going to die!"

She shrunk back, her eyes wide in fear.

"But—the shards—"

"I got them handled, either way the pain or blood loss will kill him first! You're still _too young_ to handle healing _all _this shit!" He growled, his hand sweeping across the hall and pointing back at her. "Go get that person!"

* * *

Shoes hit cobblestone, leaving loud clacking noises in their wake. The door behind her left ajar as she launched herself out of it into another world different from the inner hall.

The sky was aglow as the sun began to set over the horizon, the day leading to an end, and the night began to engulf the world to let the stars shine.

There was always a slight difference in the town, in how the sun cast its light and how the shadows formed upon the rocks. Time had done its job changing the town of Magnolia.

Wendy bit her lip as she continued to run, the sky above her forever changing into hues of cool blues and purples.

'_Wendy…time hasn't done much for you has it? They still think you're too young to do anything.' _

She ran, tripping occasionally through the streets of Magnolia, calling out the strange name. People around her looked at her in curiosity and others in shock at the roughed up girl. In her ragged dress and loosened hair bows, she looked unscathed compared to the inner guildhall. The place was a battlefield full of holes.

'_What kind of person is named Polyur—whats it?'_ She questioned, as her eyes darted to and fro for anyone who responded to the name.

Many shook their heads saying they had no idea who that person was. Her heart sunk as she slowed to a jog, wondering if she'd find anyone at all who knew Porlyusica.

"This—this is—ugh!" She choked, her hands pressing against her knees as she finally stopped to catch a breath. Her feet felt heavy, as she slowed to a stop. She wondered if this really was the right thing to do. Was this going to be enough to help the guild?

Breathing in a large gulp of air, she pushed herself forward heading down the street. In her mind, the task seemed never ending. Risking her own life to save them all seemed much easier to do. It was something she didn't mind doing after all the things the guild had done for her.

She couldn't doubt herself. It had to work. Or else.

Makarov was on the verge of falling into a coma or even to the eternal abyss, Mirajane had snapped and many others were scrambling to get rid of the witch of a woman who had caused the mess.

Looking around, Wendy noticed there were less people on the streets. She turned around hastily searching for anyone.

This Porlyusica person….

Was nowhere to be found.

Wendy's heart sank into her stomach.

The guild members waiting for her would be waiting for nothing. Makarov would die and who the hell knows what Mira would do to the guild.

She hissed as she tried to motivate herself. Her legs continued to increase in weight as she continued to run. She didn't care. She had to find someone. She had to try. Master's hopes were on her.

'_I can't fail him here….please…give me the ability to do something!'_

On instinct, she turned the corner. Everything was a blur when she gasped sharply at hitting a hard object. She stumbled, her legs tangling with each other before she felt herself victim to gravity. All she could do was snap her eyes shut and wait to greet the cold floor.

"Hey! Watch it—" A familiar voice snapped as a hand caught Wendy's wrist. Opening her eyes, she could only gape at who she had bumped into.

* * *

Ultear scoffed, tumbling smoothly to the side as a blur shot past her. Springing back up, she dusted herself off. A short glance toward the human bullet had her readying for the next attack. The raised fist made it all _too easy_ for her to expect it.

'_They're faeries after all… shimmering wings and their vibrancy is quite hard to miss.'_

"…as much as I'd _love _to stay and play with you faeries…" Ultear trailed off, tilting her head enough to miss a fist to the face. Her pleased eyes met with another pair hell-bent on destroying her.

"I simply do not have the _time."_ With a toothy grin, her hands tapped against the wall behind her.

Immediately the wall behind her shattered, stunning the anger-driven barmaid. Ultear took advantage of the short few seconds; quickly tapping several parts of the attacking mage starting on her sternum and ending on her forehead.

Mirajane's eyes suddenly went blank and her arms dropped to her sides. Soon enough her whole body fell like a rock to the ground, her eyes blank as if she was held in a trance.

Ultear peered down at the hypnotized female before picking at her nails. "Hmph. Annoying gnat." Seeing the disturbance was taking care of, her eyes shifted over to the injured guild master tended by a heavily pierced man. He was staring back at her intensely. She couldn't help but feel the urge to pluck his eyes out. Her mocking smile soon elicited a growl from the male.

'_My my…so defensive.'_

With a sigh, she ignored the mage and calling him a 'beast' under her breath. Seeing his form tense, she decided it was fair enough to stay her distance. She did have a few scratches here and there from the previous skirmish. Getting into another one too soon would be…unfortunate.

"Makarov, look at this," she announced, her hand sweeping across the room. "You were here and were unable to do _anything._" She smiled, her teeth gleaming. "Old man….if this happens while you're here…what can you do for those not in your sight?" She questioned in a falsetto tone, before giving him a short glance.

His eyes were wide and his face pale. She couldn't tell if it was from either the injury or the realization, but she took it as the latter.

"Your little _spy_ in Grimorie is taken well care of...but he won't be the only one. The one who wields the lullaby…Lucy yes? She'll be fun to play with." She hummed in delight before phasing towards the wooden door.

"And that little girl that scampered out of here…." She whispered, noticing the pierced man had finally gotten up. He was surely tense at the mentioning of young one.

"_I'll KILL you."_

Ultear raised an eyebrow. Turning her head, she snorted. Her eyes lidded in disgust. "I'd like to see you try. Even time can rust the strongest of metals….or is this more about that little airy one?"

Gajeel flinched, taken aback at her choice of words. How much did she know about Fairy Tail? Did she know Wendy knew wind magic? Gajeel furrowed his brow. She couldn't leave here with all that information.

A small tapping at his knee made him look down; Makarov was shaking his head.

'_Too much has happened to our home. Stop.'_

Gajeel hissed. "She'll get away old man! What about Wendy?"

His head shook again, his eyes tired.

"…._S-she won't hurt her."_

* * *

"Hey Wendy! Where you goin'?"

Natsu raised his eyebrows. The string of words the younger Dragon Slayer was telling him made no sense what-so-ever. Even Erza was having difficulty with Wendy's word vomit.

"Wendy please _slow down."_

"Natsu! Erza! …help! Master…."

That got their attention.

"What happened to Gramps?" Natsu questioned, raising an eyebrow. He must've gotten stuck in the toilet again or something…

"He—Porlyusica?" She wheezed, finally stopping to take large gulps of air. Her moments were cut short as Erza took her by the shoulders.

"Why does he need Porlyusica?"

Wendy widened her eyes, quickly telling what had happened at the guild. Erza then had let go of her in that amount of time, dashing into the forest. She knew where Porlyusica was, and it was going to take a crap load of begging to get her out of that tree hut of hers.

Natsu was frozen before her, his hands clenched in a fist. Finally, his eyes stared Wendy down blazing with a fury for the woman who had caused the damage in their guild.

"Wendy, let's go."

..

..

..

..

..

..

"…That won't be necessary."

The two looked aside, finding a figure standing on a rooftop. The sunset gave her a glowing outline, but the light behind her was not enough to cast away her sinister aura.

Wendy gasped.

"That's her! That woman who—"

"It's _Ultear_ little girl…," She sighed glancing over to the angry male. "and _you_," She raised an eyebrow. The males were always so tense it annoyed her. "Your appearance just made my life a tad bit more _difficult_—and here I was going to get rid of a loose end."

Natsu blinked. Straightening up for a second as something rang in his head. "Your name sounds _really familiar_…." He trailed off. Didn't that blood mage say her name before? He cursed mentally, trying to recall the whispered conversation.

Ultear deadpanned. "I would've expected you would know who I am—as you did kill one of my _associates…_Natsu Dragneel, Fire Dragon Slayer."

Wendy's head spun, to look at Natsu. He seemed smug at the achievement, even smugger at the fact she knew his name. Snorting, he moved forward, lightly pushing Wendy behind him. His wild grin gave her the hint to stay away from whatever was going to happen.

"He didn't seem that hard to kill."

Her eyes flashed. Quickly her form became a blur as she phased from the roof tops to a distance away from the two Fairy Tail mages.

Natsu chuckled, cracking his knuckles. Their previous mission had barely little fighting, just a mere delivery mission. Getting attacked by rabid Hyena-jaguars didn't compute in his mind as fighting. Just a warm up. Maybe it would be interesting to fight the woman? He for sure was rearing to do so.

"Well then….if you think it that way, your friends were much _easier _to wipe out."

Natsu scowled. Now he _really_ wanted to deck her one.

Ultear yawned, deciding to turn her back on the two. Lifting her hand in the air, she waved. "I guess I could deal with your blonde friend…" She tilted her head, satisfied at the horrified look upon Natsu's face. "After all, she wasn't _there _when I paid a visit."

Wendy shook her head in agreement when the pink haired male gave her a glance. Lucy wasn't there when everything had occurred, actually she had just left right before the chaos occurred. However she was worried by what Ultear was concocting. Looking at how Natsu was tensing, he seemed to have the same idea.

"Well then….I guess my job here is done, I did meet your master…and we did have _complications_, but in the end, we compromised…_heh_."

Her eyes widened at a sudden spark of fire grazing the front of her dress, stepping back she cringed at the burn marks. Natsu growled, at the female threatening her to say another word. Urtear glowered before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to hold her temper. With a curt smile, she waved them off, her form fading away as she teleported away from another grazing trail of fire.

"Ta-ta~"

* * *

He thought of the guild as a safe haven, full of happy faces and occasional bar fights meant as jokes, games. Walking into the guild to a mess _he_ didn't even make was something he had little intention of doing.

Yet he did.

He took little care in noticing the upturned tables and shattered glass. It was as if he could see through the broken hall and just at the people. He frowned deeply at the people who looked back at him in wonder, some wondering why he wasn't at the guild he loved the most.

'_I should've….damn it! Why didn't I get here sooner?'_

He hissed angrily, clenching his fists tighter as he walked into the minefield. Looking around once more, his eyes finally locked on a figure, or a set of figures. He blocked out everything else as he walked forward uncertainly, like an infant first placed on its feet. He ignored the pained look on Wendy's face and the nod of solemn greeting from Gajeel. Natsu only focused on what looked like his guild leader, the man who was a second father to him.

Makarov looked at the pink haired male, and couldn't help but give him a small smile. It was returned with a look of scrutiny. Those eyes then quickly shut closed.

"D-don't smile at me like that…old man." Natsu mumbled, crouching down to Makarov. "…why did you let her do this to you! You're stronger than that….damn it!"

Makarov shook his head. "T-this guild comes first."

Gajeel, deciding to break the silence, scoffed. "Gramps will be alright...we just have to wait for that person he's been mumbling about—you did get her right munchkin?" Gajeel questioned, his eyes shifting to the uneasy girl behind Natsu.

Wendy let out a breath before nodding. "Erza should be here any minute with her—"

On cue the door, slammed open, an angry old woman paraded into the guild hall scanning the mess before her.

"Hmph. Humans…of all things you do the one thing I get called for is a war? Erza, child this is not—"

"Please—Makarov is—"

"_Fine. _Where is the geezer?" Porlyusica huffed, her eyes looking over the hall once more before she realized she had missed the guild master. She paled before hurrying over to him, shoving the two males who hovered over him.

Her hands glowed immediately as she continued to rattle on about how healing the whole guild would be a job compared to replacing an eye or treating a nightmarish sleep.

Natsu looked on in wonder as the wounds stitched up partially along with the tender care Porlyusica had with placing the salve upon his chest.

"Goodness...Makarov, you cannot keep doing this to yourself! I won't live forever you know and neither will you! Damn idiot…" Porlyusica continued to scold before finally commanding the two male Dragon Slayers over.

"You two! Get him to his bed! I will not have him lying on the floor like a drunken baboon!" She watched angrily as the two quickly took him up and ran away. She could only shake her head at the small glimpse of a smile he had.

'_Thank me later you old coot. I'm guessing this is a scratch compared to what is to come.'_

With that, she then took Erza and Wendy along with her as nurses. As she began healing another of the wounds, she realized it was taking much less energy than it was supposed to. Looking aside she discovered Wendy was helping her. Porlyusica looked on strangely until Wendy sighed in relief.

Erza who had just returned with some bandages looked at the two, and took in Porlyusica's interested gaze. She had never seen the woman so engrossed with their kind, specifically the people in general. Porlyusica had such a hatred for the humans. Yet, she was surely amused with the child beside her.

"Maybe we can do something about your magic, young one...?" She trailed off, her eyes sharp.

Wendy raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry ma'am I don't know what—"

"You're a Dragon Slayer correct?"

Wendy nodded stiffly at the abrupt question. She had no idea how she knew such information.

"Hmph. A female, unlike those two males Makarov had revered about. You're of those children raised by dragons and meant to kill their own kin. Yet you can _heal._ Strange magic I must say—hear me child. How skilled are you in these arts?"

Wendy tilted her head before a pale blush appeared on her cheeks.

"I'm assuming you are weak in the skill." She spoke harshly.

Wendy slumped.

"Expected of an infant who isn't told what to do. You learned little before your 'master'," Porlyusica rolled her eyes. "Had the chance to fully engross you in the art?"

"Y-yes…I suppose."

"Well then," Porlyusica stood up and pointed back down at a sleeping form: Mirajane. "Heal her."

"What?" Wendy gaped. Just healing one person took a lot out of her and she already had given some of her magic to heal a few other people. "B-but I can't!"

"Girl, do not tell me such drivel. I will see how well you are in the skill of healing after you do this. If you are adequate enough…I may decide to return to this wretched hall and teach you a skill."

* * *

Three days passed after the scarring incident and interior decorating was currently the project of the faeries.

Erza sighed and lifted her hand to wipe sweat off her brow. The hammer in her hand dropped to the floor as she eased herself onto the bar counter. Her along with a few others were in the process of fixing the mess hall. The explosive lacrima shards were removed a while back and the holes in the guild were their only reminder.

Erza mumbled a thanks to Mirajane who was, back on her feet with a few scratches, passing around lemonade. She too seemed a bit at peace after her break down.

"…Is Master okay?" Mirajane questioned, placing the tray of lemonade down onto the bar counter. She hadn't seen him for quite some time after the accident. She also felt a bit guilty for the mess in the hall, normally being the one to stand in the fight rather than _be_ in the fight.

Erza nodded. "Natsu's been at his beck and call for the past few days. The idiot's back to his normal self now, seeing Master's going to pull through."

As the two continued with their small talk, a figure eased himself through a door before shutting it quietly.

Heads rose and Natsu, Makarov and a frustrated Porlyusica were greeted with an apologetic Grey. He seemed upset that no one had told him what had occurred in the guild as well, having his own moment that day spending time with Jubia. The water mage hadn't appeared in the guild yet as she herself was wallowing at the boarding house.

"Master…I'm s—"

"Don't even start with the apology crap Grey. Even if you were there, nothing would've changed." Makarov waved off, getting sharp glances from Natsu and Porlyusica.

"Meh…you'd still be that suicidal idiot I have to heal." Porlyusica snorted before heading to a cabinet to retrieve more salve.

Makarov chuckled. "Ignore the old hag—" he began, before a jar of green salve flew past his head. "Grey even someone like you would've lost control in that situation. The woman, Ultear from what Natsu's been telling me, seems to be familiar to you…from what I understand."

Grey flinched before nodding, explaining the relation of the woman to Ur, his past mentor. The name of Ur's daughter was taboo during their training, Grey never knew she was alive of all things.

"I see…" He frowned, deciding to fling off the covers despite the protesting Natsu. "Get _off_ me Natsu!  
I may be old but I still can walk!" He growled before lifting himself out of bed. "Now then, I cannot see any of you hurt again. This—this _attack_ left us open and as much as I'd love to beat the crap out of Grimoire, not many of us know where it is….except one person and I worry for him."

Natsu and Grey blinked. "Who?"

"One of my spies…who it seems Ultear got to first. Yoric Lombardi." With a sigh he shook his head before heading to a nearby communications lacrima. "I guess I should warn the others—"

"Others? I thought everyone was here…besides the few who weren't." Grey commented from his spot against the wall. He glanced aside trying not to catch the look on Natsu face.

"Well Gildarts is obviously not here, being on another one of those missions of his…along with the Raijinshuu on their own little escapades. Oh and Lucy, she wasn't here as well, I saw her leave that day actually—" Makarov recalled, scratching his head as he tapped the lacrima.

Natsu perked at Lucy's name. He paused, moving over to Makarov placing his hand onto the Guild Master's shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Ultear said the same thing! She knew Luce was gone…I thought it was pretty weird."

Makarov paused as he caught Gildarts onto the Lacrima. Telling Gildarts he'd get back to him in a second, the connection died. "You didn't tell me this before…and I thought what she had said were just bluffs…" Makarov mumbled, as he pulled at his mustache.

"Wait what's going on?" Grey blinked, finding himself out of the loop.

"Ultear knows how we find the Lullaby, through Layla's book. She also knows how many of them we've found, most of them already kept away except for one—"

"Lucy's?"

Makarov nodded before smacking his head. He let out a dry laugh. "How can I be so _stupid?" _Limping over to a shelf, he reached for a scroll. Taking it into hand, he limped back towards Natsu and Grey, before shoving it into Natsu's chest. The pink haired mage raised an eyebrow at the action.

"What's this?" Natsu questioned as he unraveled the scroll looking at its contents.

"It's a map you dolt."

"I mean—" Natsu flustered, scowling at Grey who was smirking behind him. "—what's the damn thing for?"

"Get a team together. From what I know and what _you _aren't telling me," Makarov pointed to the scowling Natsu. "Lucy has something Grimoire wants. And they're finally going after it."

* * *

Fin~ Ch. 10

* * *

A/N: Uh...I don't really have much to say. lol.

Review and leave little questions if need be! :)


	11. 2:1: How to Catch a Fallen Star

Hello all! Thanks for the reviews and alerts/favorites!

Now this chapter, along with a few others will take place in that three-day gap which Fairy Tail was fixing up after the Grimoire attack. So pretty much, this will be Loki and Lucy along with some friends until maybe later on…

**So yes, the DISCLAIMER applies.**

* * *

Ch 11: How to Catch a Fallen Star

* * *

Here we find a world covered by a blanket of night, with stars cast through the sky. It was a mysterious place filled with peaceful silence and an air of regality. Patches of houses lined the place, their architecture similar to that of the roman era. Far past the houses rose a floating isle, tethered down by a bridge. A castle-like structure stood tall above the rest of the towns, indicating the home of the Spirit King, Queen and their court.

This was Caelestis, world of the spirits.

Upon the bridge was Leo, humming a tune as he walked up the path with a familiar friend in tow. It was Aries twiddling her fingers nervously. She had little idea in why they were heading to see the king, much less why Leo was called. Had he done something wrong? Was he going to get stuck in Earthland again? Oh surely not! It would kill him and _Lucy! _Oh poor Lu—

"Aries…I'm not in trouble."

She let out a breath.

"B-but…you haven't been called to his c-castle in such a long time Leo. I-I'm worried."

Leo shook his head. "I don't get why you're worried…It's not your fault. Anyway I just asked you to come along…just in case!" He chuckled, winking. The gesture did not ease the nervous ram in the slightest.

"Leo…the last time you were called here—ah!" She stopped, bumping into the back of the still lion. She paused noticing his happy expression fell at the reminder. She flinched, realizing it was inappropriate.

Leo however, shrugged before continuing on, the smile plastered back on his face. "Lucy is fine…there hasn't been an _incident."_

"…I see…"

The rest of their stroll lingered in silence as they approached the tall doors of the castle. Aries stopped, gaping at the huge structure. Wondering how the world they were to open such large gates. Leo smirked at her expression.

"You haven't been here before have you?"

Aries turned, realizing the lion was talking to her. She then shook her head. Of course, the lion was talking to her! He wouldn't talk to the wall would he?

"U-um….V-virgo brought me here once…." Her eyes cast down in embarrassment.

Leo nodded, it was understandable for the virginal maiden to come to the castle as she made clothes for the court quite often. That along with her weird fetish with making Lucy's clothing as well. It then reminded him about the boxes of fabric lining his hallways…

"Leo…h-how do we open the door?" Aries whispered, cutting into Leo's trail of thought.

He blinked before placing his hand on the door. "It doesn't _open_."

"Huh?" She tilted her head.

"It _disappears._"

Right then, Leo declared his name to the door. A light radiated through the door starting from where his hand was planted against its surface, spreading throughout the opening. Once encased in light, the door itself then exploded in a shower of gold glitter.

Aries widened her eyes in astonishment. Virgo had done no such thing when she entered the castle—from what she could remember. Most of the time, the eccentric spirit would just take the easy way out and use her own magic to create a pathway into the inner workings of the building.

This for sure was much more elegant…and much less dirty.

"Hello…?" Leo called, as he stepped upon the white marble tile. Looking around the hall was empty. He expected that seeing only few spirits lived here, about 6 or so in number and he only had seen one in person; the king himself.

However it wasn't the king that responded to his call, it was a small petite woman in a Victorian dress, crème in color. Her hair billowing down to her waist adorned with stellar accessories and the occasional white lily weaved into her green hair. Her gold eyes spoke of wisdom and beauty as she walked towards them. Those gold orbs then widened as she saw the two spirits bow before her. They, of course, knew who she was.

The Queen, bored out of her mind, decided to play with them a bit.

"This is quite a sight! Do you bow before everyone here in this castle?" She pondered, her dainty hands covering her lips. Seeing the confused looks on the two she chuckled, her high laughter echoing through the hall.

Looking at the nervous ram, she smiled cocking her head aside. "Now now, my dear Aries…no fear. You are here for nothing. Merely a guest in this wondrous castle of ours." She chimed, hugging the ram before moving to the still bowing lion.

"Leo…you have been called here. Is that right?" She asked slowly, picking the lion spirit off his knee.

He nodded curtly.

The queen clapped her hands in excitement.

"Good, good...you remember! That's nice…however our King did not call you." She stated, her eyes focused on him.

"But I thought—"

"Hm? You think only the king may call their subjects? That is quite strange…but no. The king has little reason to trifle in the issues of the Elliptical Zodiac." She pointed out, prodding him lightly against the chest.

He eased back, apologizing for his mistake only to be shrugged off. The queen seemed less perturbed by his lack of knowledge.

Aries, squirmed as she wished to say something. The Queen noticing her discomfort eased her into talking.

"Ah…but he's our King…"

"And I'm your _Queen._ I rule over the elliptical keys. He rules over our court and the silver keys. I still say your banishment—" Her eyes glancing over to Leo who flinched at the words. "—was never his ruling to call for…yet it seemed just. However, I digress! My issue does not lay in you my dear spirits! But in another."

Leo and Aries raised their eyebrows.

"Someone has not come home in quite some time…I do worry for her."

"H-how long…?"

"Three days in Earthland time."

Leo frowned, he knew the problems with staying on Earthland for such a long time, however he had spend much longer their than the other spirits, he didn't know how long this one would last.

"Who is it?"

The Queen frowned, her eyes gleaming with worry.

"Pisces."

"P-pisces..?" Aries questioned again. The queen only nodded.

"Her sister has not been informed yet. I doubt she'll notice with her current infatuation with Scorpio." The queen snorted unlady-like, causing a giggle to come from the ram.

"Hmph. If Aquarius found out, I wonder what would happen if Lucy summoned her..?" Loki trailed off, imagining a huge tidal wave of disaster coming her way. That along with him saving her upon a white horse…

"—Your master I presume Leo?" The Queen asked, tilting her head aside in amusement. She gleamed with mischief as a subconscious smile disappeared off Leo's face, becoming a pin straight line.

"O-our master ma'am…" Aries added, quickly apologizing for the interruption.

The Queen widened her eyes, realizing how accomplished the mage was. To her, finding one of the keys was hard enough. Some of the spirits, to make it difficult, had thrown their keys across the land. Why, she could remember one in particular hidden on some sort of demon island! Immediately after the thought, she shook her head. She had to stop floating off!

"Hm…and what is this female to you…?" The Queen asked, encircling Leo.

He stiffened, noticing the predatory gleam in the Queen's eyes.

"There is so much we can do for those that are our friends. For we are loyal and true until the day they _die._ However, there is something they do not have that we are forever with—time. For us it is eternal, never ending much like the light that is radiating from the stars. It runs through space and reaches distances they, humans, may never reach. So I must say it now…." She trailed off, her eyes staring into Leo's as if she was trying to read his soul.

"….Is she more than just a _friend _dear Leo? Have you bitten off more than you can chew…?"

Leo twitched and immediately glanced away from the Queen's piercing eyes, not to miss the amused chuckle falling from her lips. It seemed he gave away enough, yet she wished for an answer.

Aries frowned at his silence. "L-leo…there is nothing to hide," She smiled faintly at the lion whose sleeve she tugged at. "…Gemini was the first to know…they streamed through her memories."

Eyes widened.

"So it's true? This is not mere talk from the Elliptical Zodiac? And I thought Virgo was just a mere gossi—"

"Wait. Virgo? What the hell?" Leo blurted out before bowing in apology. Again, the Queen shrugged it off.

"Of course, Virgo practically lives here! Someone like her would know about the world behind these walls. Still…I must give you my congratulations…and my caveat. Spirits have done this before dear Leo…and they do lose their will in this realm." She frowned, moving closer to him to embrace him in a hug.

"They lose their mind to a broken heart and disappear," She whispered into his ear before pulling away. "and from the looks of it," She scanned him, "She has you smothered in her warmth…so remember—always. Humans will pass…and you must _take the pain._"

From then on, the Queen continued to converse with the two spirits as if she had been locked up in the castle for centuries. From the basic gossip to the strange and downright wrong had passed between the trio's lips. Leo seemed stiff as the conversations continued on, which wasn't missed by the eyes of the watchful Aries. She only hoped for his well-being, especially after the warning he had received.

Time then seemed to speed up as Leo and Aries soon found themselves leaving the castle, and walking back down the bridge. The Queen from the gate waved them off in happiness, her head cocked aside as she gave the two a last glance.

As she turned, the gate behind her returned in a dazzling display of light, only to be ignored. Her eyes were focused elsewhere, specifically on a being foreign to the land of Caelestis. Her golden eyes curled in greeting.

"Hello, lion star. I question why you are here." She stated with her royal grace, with a steely undertone. She furrowed her brows at the guest, wondering why a star would enter the spirit realm. They had no reason to dwell in this world, as their world was full of their own.

The spirits and the stars as much as they worked together, they were selfish with everyone but those they worked with. It was rare to see stars befriend spirits who were not under their guidance.

"The one who holds my name has been here…." Regulus stated, looking at her for confirmation.

"Yes. Leo has graced me with his presence. I do not understand how my spirits are your concern."

"He is a _special case_."

"Of course...aren't we all?"

"Spirit Queen, you do not understand. His heart lies—"

"—with a human—a mage none the less. I have no need to hear anymore as I've been informed. Now leave." The Queen hissed, turning away from the lion.

"You do not know _everything_, young spirit!" Regulus roared to her, causing the Queen to stop in her tracks. "Immortality does not suit spirits who fall for those on Earthland! Their deaths, no matter what, scar those in _our _realm! Do not let this one fall like the others…at least, give him a _chance to live._"

"I have no ability to do so." She spoke defiantly, her back facing the lion.

The lion chuckled darkly. He knew of this Queen's stubbornness and it irked him to no end. "There is someone who _does._ We all know of her." He pointed out, throwing out his trump card.

It worked.

The Queen spun around, furious at the thought. There was no way the Key Maker would grant such a wish! "…That will never happen!"

The lion mused before his form faded away, the Queen rushing to claw at him."...you are too late young '_Southern Crown'_…for it is already written in the stars."

* * *

Lucy sat day dreaming as she stared at the clouds from the carriage pulled by a purple boar-bison. In her lap lay her norm: her mother's book and a stray pencil. It had become boring staring at silver print for quite some time…and the clouds had decided to be interesting that day.

Beside her sat her canine companion, Plue, shivering in glee at being out. His curiosity perked at his name in the book Lucy left open, especially with her name printed beside it. After finding that appealing for only a few seconds, he began to wander the small space of the carriage, occasionally tripping over feet. Particularly a pair of feet dressed in black shined shoes.

Loki didn't seem to mind the shivering creature.

His own thoughts were wandering to the conversation he had with the Queen and Aries. Of course Lucy was going to grow old…and unfortunately die. While he…would forever stay the way he was. He glanced over to the Stellar Mage finding that they had locked eyes.

She only beamed before returning to her lounging self, looking over a cloud that took the shape of Happy.

He instead of slowly turning away, his head spun, his eyes glued back to the outer scenery. He scowled at the fact. How long would it be until she finally took it in? 5? 10 years? Or even maybe in the next few months? Who knew?

Either way he was in turmoil. Would he truly get over the fact if she _died?_

Even if he tried, there was no way he was going to let go. No amount of time would heal such a wound. Hell, it took him years to get over the fact that he killed Karen. How was he supposed to deal with losing someone he loved?

There was no way he was going to let her go six feet under any time soon.

"…Loki? Are you okay?" A voice broke in, causing his eyes to shift in the person's direction. Lucy looked at him uneasily.

He nodded stiffly. "Yeah...I'm fine…"

"Are you sure? Because you're bleeding." She pointed out to his hand. He had been clenching it for some time and it was streaming blood. He raised it up, noticing his fingernails were coated in the red substance.

He blinked.

"Oh…_Oh._" Immediately he widened his eyes. He then shot up only to crash his head into the roof of the carriage and fall back to his seat. Now not just his hand, but also his head and ego were bruised. He sighed dejectedly before dropping his head back onto the seat.

"Fuck…" He mumbled.

"…you idiot!" She snorted, before placing a shocked Plue back into a seat. "I didn't expect you to jump…it was just a _little _blood." She chimed, her hands now in her bag searching for some bandages. A small 'there we go' at the sight of the bandages in her bag was all Loki needed before he felt something warm touch his wrist.

He could only stare at her as she worked; wrapping it with such tenderness around his hand and tying it with a bow he knew was going to fall off eventually.

She whistled before clapping her hands in accomplishment as Loki flexed his hand, finding it a bit loose. Lucy stared at her work before she shrugged and scratched her head. "…Uh I think that'll do. If Mirajane was here, she'd be able to tie better knots—"

"It's fine Lucy…thanks." He said quietly before huddling himself back into the side of the carriage and peering out the window once more like a cat on a windowsill.

"…Are you sure you're okay…?" Lucy questioned once more, hoping to see his eyes stare back at her. She frowned sadly at his answer: a hesitant nod.

She only shook her head in silent aggravation, reluctantly understanding his need to be alone. His crossed arms and distant behavior was enough of a sign and Lucy couldn't seem to pinpoint why he was that way.

The two then lay in an awkward silence for several hours while Plue shivered in sadness at the invisible boundary between Lucy and Loki. The little spirit felt the stifling air between them, and found it dark compared to the bright sunny day that was beginning outside the carriage.

Lucy then sighed, breaking the silence. Her book snapped shut and was stuffed forcefully into her knapsack. Moving to Loki's side, she leaned her head onto his shoulder and shut her eyes.

"If you aren't going to say anything, at least let me help you like this…" She whispered tiredly as she rubbed her eye. Looking up she couldn't help but felt accomplished at the ghost of a smile upon his lips.

* * *

God, she had to stop finding herself in these weird dream states. Honestly, she didn't know when she ingested some sort of drug or something that keeps on bringing her here randomly.

The world seemed grayer than before, not as dark or speckled from her previous greetings. She was sure that she could see silhouettes in the horizon of this gray, once black, world. Looking around once more, she noticed a familiar stream of light float her way and form into the gold feather pen she held once before.

'_Oh great. The lion's back.'_

"You don't seem happy to see me little human. I suppose I deserve that for pulling you into this world night after night…or afternoon" Regulus rolled his eyes, finding himself comfortable on the floor which took some sort of black and grey stone.

_Why am I here again?_

"Now that's a good question, but I still cannot answer that for you." Regulus noted, his eyes glancing to corners of his pupils.

Lucy groaned before walking away, finding the world now more interesting as there was something actually out here, not just darkness or something she could fall into possibly in the next ten seconds.

"I suggest standing there Lucy. You never know when you might meet something else _other _than me. They might not be so _friendly_."

'_You're not either, buddy.'_

Immediately she spun, frustrated with the vagueness of the lion, why couldn't he just tell her about Loki and what crawled up his ass and died!

Lucy hissed, before scrawling something angrily into the air.

_Why should I listen to you? I have done nothing to deserve being played by a radioactive lion!_

As soon as she finished her angry statement, she regretted the words, seeing the insulted look upon Regulus's face. Quickly it contorted into something of an angered sneer. Immediately she leapt into a run barely getting a few feet before finding herself face first back onto the floor, pinned by the angered feline.

The pen had flew out of her grip and clattered onto what she considered stone. Unable to speak, she flailed wildly before placing her forehead back onto the stone, letting out a sigh.

"Are you done mortal? Of course, I would rather not do this to someone like you either, however it seems you are the current obsession of my spirit companion. For that, I have to make sure he is _happy._ We are immortal beings of course and I'd rather have him appeased than dying in misery…and he can't really _die_ if you catch my drift."

Lucy blinked and turned her head so her ear laid flat on the pavement. Her brown eye stared at him, her lips wording Loki's name in a question.

"Of course. He is who I talk about—well I mean, he's not _obsessed _but…damn you make this difficult! How shall I explain this?" He wondered leaning off the girl. Finding less weight on her shoulders, she prepared to flee once more, only to find something pressed on her clothing.

Looking down she raised an eyebrow.

From what she could see, she wasn't wearing a white nightgown anymore, it was more of a dress, the back of it longer than the front. Her feet were still bare as always, and for sure she could feel her hair braided and longer. Regulus who finally got his words, reclaimed her attention after her short discovery in the wardrobe change.

"You are different from that harem that once followed the little spirit. None of them could _see _this world or even remember their meetings here. From what I can see, you noticed something." He clawed at the fabric beneath his paw, raising it up to her. Her hand went out to reach it, finding it being one of the softest things she's ever touched. She never had anything like this in her closet back in Magnolia.

"You wouldn't have tried to run either…if you couldn't see anything, but I'm guessing you can see something?" He tilted his head. Noticing her lack of the feather pen, he leaned aside noticing it had fallen onto the floor. Commanding it to rise, it floated back to the duo and landed gracefully into Lucy's hands. Quickly did she scrawl several words:

_Grey and White silhouettes…not just black everything anymore. Why?_

Regulus stilled, finding her words unappealing. "…too much. You see too much for a human right now…it's as if—no. I cannot let you wander here any further."

Lucy took that somehow as a good thing, finally rid of these strange dreams! Now she didn't have to deal with the lion any longer! She smiled at the lion, later finding it not happy in the slightest.

He snorted. "Even if I _bar_ you from here, you _will _come back, human. So don't get your hopes up. It's been cast into the stars. One may think _fate_ is kind to you."

She frowned.

Regulus sighed and looked at her, his eyes lidded in annoyance. "For my _antagonizing, _I will leave you with this then…just to appease your rattled brain."

_Huh?_

"He likes you _too_ damn much."

* * *

The carriage had stopped. The purple bison-boar snorted at Loki as he passed by, both giving the other a glare. Plue stayed in the carriage with the sleeping Lucy while he walked around, surveying where they had stopped. Looking around, he noticed the sign of the town, Roselio and a stamp looking similar to a pinwheel, its blades replaced by the shadows of four dog heads.

Sighing, he walked over to the carriage immediately greeted by it shaking profusely along with a sudden screech. Quickly did he open the carriage, noticing Lucy had fallen off the seat her, form on the floor. She didn't notice him open the door as she cursed out the lion who plagued her.

"…you okay?" He looked on, uncertain if he should've asked at all. The girl was growling at herself, spinning around for her knapsack.

She nodded her head repeatedly, continuing to mumble about her discomfort for the lion. Finally focusing on Loki, she waved him off, telling him she'd be ready in a second. Loki complied, not wanting to get in the middle of the tense mage's internal argument. However, he did raise an eyebrow at the small whisper of the name of the lion. Of course, it being the namesake for his attacks.

Finally did the female walk out of the carriage, Plue resting comfortably on her shoulder. Layla's book open in her hands, as she looked down at it and back up, giving a small sound of approval at the Roselio Sign. Patting the Purple Boar Bison in thanks she watched it then snort and disappear in a loud crack. The magic sustaining it depleted.

"So why are we here anyway Lucy?" He tilted his head as he stepped in pace with the girl. His curiosity peaked after being left in the dark for most of the trip. Of course, he brought it on himself, dwelling in thoughts he didn't wish to think of further.

"We're heading to another guild…Quatro Cerberus." She noted, turning on a random street. It seemed the guild was popular in its home town much like Fairy Tail was to Magnolia; some signs posted on the streets had directions exactly for the guild.

Lucy wondered if that wasn't always such a good thing for it was like brining an exterminator to a hive of bees. Still, being a guild full of powerful mages made up for that. They were resilient creatures after all.

"Why?"

"I need to see another Stellar Mage…he has the rest of the Elliptical Zodiac." As she continued walking, she noticed her companion had stopped at a sign. His look of scrutiny directed at the girl.

"You mean Pisces, Capricorn and Libra?"

The mage nodded.

"My mother said we could destroy the lullabies with a spell if we had all the Elliptical Zodiac present. We need to summon all of you guys."

Something in Loki's mind clicked, recalling the Pisces had been missing, and obviously, the mage who 'lost' her was in this guild. He hissed to himself, realizing Pisces was risking the life of another mage! If she stayed out any longer, it might not just kill her but also whoever this faceless mage was. Speeding back to Lucy's side, he then took care in observing his surroundings, while Lucy focused on several more signs hoping to get to the guild soon.

This eagerness for finding the guild was the only thing keeping her from jumping Loki and asking him what was wrong. Normally he'd be cracking jokes by now not keeping his attention on everything else but _her._ It wasn't that she missed the attention, in fact she thought it was quite humorous and embarrassing. It was that she was so used to it, it pained her to see him everything but sunny. In the back of her mind him being a clouded sun for several hours—almost a day, was too much for her.

"Hey I'm guessing this is the place…?"

Looking to him then to the building, she nodded dumbly, finding the place very different compared to Fairy Tail.

Quatro Cerberus was a fortress in itself. Its stained glass windows displayed their proud symbol along with dark colors of navy blues, greens and the occasional brown. The guild's grey brick was splotched with occasional crawling vines and the stray moss which ran behind the brick walls, hiding the rest of the guild in view. Into the sky above shot several spires, each one decorated with Cerberus gargoyles.

"Holy crap…" Loki whistled, walking through its gates, peering behind the brick. Lucy's eyes glimmered at the Angel's Trumpet and Moonflowers that grew in flower boxes. Yet she shuddered at the sweep of a bat flying by, her eyes widening as one swept before her, almost throwing Plue off her shoulder.

"Be careful of the bats, they are quite a handful."

Lucy followed one of the bats, leading to a familiar man. He wore a hat with a frayed tip. Its red rim bearing spikes. His attire was that of a long robe, open from the middle. It was plain black in color along with his shirt and dress pants. Upon his neck was a collar similar to that of the rim of his pointed hat, the spikes not as large as those on the hat's rim.

She smiled, realizing who he was from years back, Goldmine, the leader of this guild. "Ah…hello sir…we're from Fairy Tail—"

"Sure you are! Your little stamp on your hand there proves it," He pointed, causing the girl to raise her hand. "Makarov told me all about you. He said you'd be accompanied by a few people…although _people_ I'm sure is not the correct term." Goldmine tilted his head, noticing the white little creature sitting—shivering on Lucy's shoulder.

Immediately did she address Plue who tilted his head in greeting, while Loki behind her nodded.

"Well then, welcome! I hope you aren't going to destroy anything here…I'd have trouble cleaning up. So come on, come with me." Hooking into Lucy's arm, he brought her to the front entrance; a standard issue guild door, the one thing which seemed the same with every other guild. Pushing the gate open, Goldmine smiled at the roar of greetings.

Lucy gaped. It's scary yet mysterious exterior was surely a facade for the warm interior. Fire places stationed on each wall while drapes of a maroon color fell from the ceilings. Their tables were rounded at the edges, made of a dark polished wood along with its matching benches. A pair of winding stairs were positioned at each side of the guild main hall while doors lined the walls opening into the unknown.

Members walked all over the place, some contrasting with the exterior of the guild, wearing the brightest of colors, even lighter than that of Natsu's hair. It was a mix of characters in this guild, yet it seemed they desired the dark warmth and cozy feeling that was offered here in Quatro Cerberus.

"Well then, up we go! Your rooms are prepared for the night in the higher corridors."

"But I need—"

"Amery isn't here right now, so I'll introduce you to _our_ Stellar Mage tomorrow." Goldmine stressed.

She pouted, deciding to ask if she could take a few more minutes to look around. With his curt nod, Fairy Tail's little starlet began looking curiously at their insignia, etched into the wall. Her companion, the one with the strawberry blonde hair, from what he could see had to ease her away from their trademark and up the stairwell. Her little friend, who had decided to take its own little tour, launched itself onto the steps, hopping one step at a time hoping not to fall back down or stepped upon. Goldmine shook his head and scooped Plue up into his arms, before jumping the steps, skipping every other one until he reached the top.

* * *

Fin~ Ch.11

* * *

A/N: Well this one came out quickly, even after my little detour for Inception (great movie btw, one has to watch it.). Chapter 12 is in the works, while I'm plotting up other things.

So comments, questions, reviews go forth!


	12. 2:2: Ignorance

**DISCLAIMER applies**

A/N at the bottom.

Enjoy.

* * *

Ch 12: Ignorance

* * *

It was one of those times, where Lucy decided there was no difference in Guilds. In which guilds were all insane to the point of borderline medical institutional. Their color schemes, choice of wall paint and even their insignias did not cloud her eyes of the wackiness of what were the Fiore Guild Halls. And she thought she got away from the craziness of her own guild.

Waking up that morning from her bed, she found a horrendous odor wafting from the room along with a strange animal doll resting on the foot of her bed. It seemed strange of course for the doll because she couldn't remember it even being there when Goldmine showed her the room.

The doll was large, larger than the brown teddy bear, 3 feet high she had resting in the corner of her apartment in Magnolia. It wasn't even a damn bear, but in fact a large dog. Its arms were stitched roughly onto its body, a body which seemed duller and grey looking compared to a normal dog, one full of life.

However its off-color fur was not what had caused her to jump out of bed screeching into the hands of what she knew was a Quatro Cerberus mage.

Oh no, it was the fact the creature _moved._

Its eyes gleamed eerily at her as she rose out of bed, carefully trying not to even touch the thing. Nevertheless, it felt her movement; the simple shaking of the bed brought it out of its slumber. The stitched body stretched as if it slept for ages, immediately taking a position of guard after finding Lucy frozen as she had one foot lifted out onto the floor.

It barked, she ran. That's all it took.

In her plaid pajamas and a random black tank top, she ran out of her room colliding with the said nearby mage, whose hair was choppy and brown, placed into low pigtails while her getup consisted of spiked belts and a plain black dress. Her hair was adorned with skull pins while beneath her eyes were dark rings, much lighter than those who lacked sleep. The mage fell back much like Lucy, wincing as she rubbed her head angrily before preparing to give the Stellar Mage a piece of her mind.

"I'm sorry—I saw—there was something—" Lucy raced, her eyes widened in shock and fear. More so from the lucid glare being received from who she collided with, however the girl's eyes flashed, the angry expression waned, and Lucy sighed finding who she had bumped lifting herself back up gracefully and reaching out for fallen Lucy's hand, lifting her abet roughly.

"Who the hell are you?" The girl began, a short growl ending her question while she leered at the fumbling Lucy.

Lucy began to state where she came from, only to be patted harshly on the back, finding herself bouncing forward to catch her balance. Turning she greeted Master Goldmine who's smile seemed a bit too cheery compared to the dark night of the prior evening.

"Ah so you've met one of our new members eh Lucy? And I thought you were here for business?" He joked, his eyes beneath those shades of his watching over the form of the Quatro Cerberus mage. "Why then, say 'ello Ophelia! Lucy is our guest from Fairy Tail. She'll be meeting with Amery—you know? The red haired one your friend likes to stalk?"

Ophelia nodded, her expression blank, then reached her hand out once more to the stellar mage. "Hello and Good bye." She muttered bluntly while taking Lucy's hand in a limp grip. With a quick shake of greeting to Master Goldmine, Ophelia turned and left, leaving nothing but a strange feeling in Lucy's gut.

"So why are you out so early?" Goldmine questioned, breaking Lucy's reverie. His eyes turned to a close grandfather clock. It was only five in the morning and very few of his members were awake at the time.

"T-there's something in my room!" She panicked, dragging the curious guild master to her quarters, revealing the strange wolf doll which growled at her angrily before panting in greeting to Goldmine. He patted it eagerly before letting it walk out of the room into the hall.

Lucy stared dumbly at the dog as it wagged its tail away, drifting further into the corridor. She watched it stop at a door, scratch it before it eased open and walk in without a care in the world. Looking to Goldmine, she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Oh, Rigor. Ophelia's dog. Must've walked into the wrong room again! Silly mutt. I'd say a day or two ago Amery found him on his couch. After that he hadn't slept in his apartment for days until he got a new door—destroyed ya'kno. Didn't make a fuss that boy, just joked around with Ophelia about getting her dog a leash. Got 'im a beating that did." Goldmine mused, walking out of her room. Smiling to her as if there was nothing to worry about, he reminded her about Amery's arrival later in the afternoon. From what he did see and to Lucy's chagrin, she was surely not ready to greet him.

With that, Goldmine waved her off, giving her best wishes for a better sleep as she eased her door shut. In the back of her mind, she couldn't help but question how Rigor got into the room.

She was positive she locked it last night.

* * *

Awake, refreshed and now in proper attire, Lucy followed Master Goldmine as he walked into the streets of Roselio. Amery, who she had to meet, hadn't shown up. In the words of the Quatro Cerberus guild leader, It wasn't him to be tardy; fashionably late yes, but over 3 hours late? No. Wondering what was holding up his protégée, Goldmine took Lucy along to head to Amery's apartment down in the southern district of Roselio.

It wasn't long till they reached his apartment, located in a building similar to that of the guild hall, only not as scary—just more…antique.

"Most of the buildings here in Roselio are old…the guild, being more recent of the buildings, was built to match the town…we just ended up going a bit overboard." He chuckled deeply.

'_Is there a word better than overboard?'_

Knocking on the door, he soon found it unlocked, causing eyes to narrow. With a sigh, he bashed open the already ajar door, knocking it off its hinges.

Lucy stared, her mouth agape as she pointed her finger at the door, then at Master Goldmine.

"Wait. Wasn't that already open? Couldn't you just—" She began, only to be hushed by Goldmine. Who in their right mind breaks a door when it's already open? She slumped, preparing for the worst.

'_For the keys, for the keys, all for the keys…ohmygod…'_

"Hey! Brat! Where are you?" Goldmine yelled into the apartment. Following the master in, she noticed how clean the mage was, his kitchen was spotless while several rows of shoes were placed neatly against the wall. The mage seemed very kept and orderly. Goldmine only frowned at the sight before moving on. Seeing him leave, she followed him as he opened another door.

Goldmine let out a sigh."Finally, somethin' that _is _Amery." He mused, leaning against the doorpost of Amery's bedroom. Peering inside, Lucy only paled at the travesty. His bed was upturned, and his clothing was scattered all over the floor. She squinted at something shiny—was that a key?

"What the hell?" Lucy twitched, picking up the key finding it attached to his key ring holding two golden keys and a mass of silver ones. Wait…didn't this mage have _the rest_ of the Elliptical Zodiac?

"Hm…this is interesting, Amery hasn't ever flipped his bed over before…" Goldmine tilted his head, rubbing his chin while examining the bed. He snatched up a rabbit clip and tucked it away into his robe. Lucy blinked wondering why he didn't first think of Amery even missing his _keys._ The bed? Was that really even that important?

"Won't he need help?" Lucy questioned, rattling Amery's key ring. Surely if he was in trouble, he'd need his keys—which they both knew he didn't _have_.

Looking down at her, he shrugged. "Doubt it. I have a strange feeling I _know _who did this."

Lucy slapped her forehead. Mumbling to herself about crazy guild leaders and keyless mages, she didn't notice Goldmine tread through Amery's clothes, heading for the giggling closet.

She blinked.

'_Maybe its enchanted? Yeah…yeah that's it. Another magical ploy…'_

"Ah ha~" Goldmine decreed, pushing the closet doors aside with dramatic flare. Two faces—one relieved the other pouting, were revealed to Goldmine and Lucy.

'_Oh god. This is really like Fairy Tail!'_

"Mmphf!"

"No—he found us again!" A high voice whined, as another voice screeched behind cloth.

"Lorena…you owe him a _door _this time." Goldmine stated firmly, scolding the girl who was bent on shedding tears. Lucy face-palmed.

'_Didn't you break the door?'_

Lorena, the small teenage female in the closet, gave a face. Her nose crinkled and her cheeks puffed at Master Goldmine before she angrily shoved her hands into her black corduroy short pockets. "I didn't do anything!" She complained, saying Amery had created the chaos around them.

The male, tied up in a rope made of his own ties and shoelaces, shook his head profusely. His eyes locked with Lucy's for a second, each one raising an eyebrow at the other.

Goldmine shook his head in the negative. "You might want to be more _stealthier _next time if you want to get away with it," Pulling something out of his pocket, he clipped something into Lorena's gray hair. She widened her eyes at the gesture. "You left your clip on his bed."

"Drat."

She angled it precisely on her head and gave the master a small pout. He didn't return it quickly but left her with a small smile. With his hand on the small of her back he pushed her lightly away so she could hop out of the closet. Lucy noticed the short glace the girl gave her as she pranced by. Her green eyes flashed at Lucy with a slight childlike glee. It was a split moment, but Lucy thought the girl sneered at her shortly after. She didn't have time to ask, Lorena had already flittered away like a hummingbird yearning for food.

"Hey Lucy—darling do you mind helping me untie Amery? Lorena did him a good one this time."

* * *

Several yards of shoe string, the occasional tie, and one bandana later; Amery was finally released from his clothing malfunction and was sitting upon his now flat bed. Holding his knee to his chin while his other leg dangled over the edge, he moped at the fact Lorena caught him again in his sleep and stuffed him into his closet. His hand rubbed at the ink upon his face, which the young girl had smeared all over, drawing random hearts and stars.

The female giggled at the classic monocle on his left eye.

"What's with the busty blonde Goldmine?" He questioned, giving her a look. She looked different from everyone else in the guild he was accustomed to, already full to the brim of interesting people. One thing for sure he knew was that she wasn't a new member to the guild, he had been eyeing the tattoo on her hand.

"—Fairy Tail mage, here to meet…"

Amery dozed off, muting the long-winded speech from Goldmine. Nodding his head as if he was listening, he soon went to run his finger in his ear. The blonde girl staring at him was giving him an expression, one which seemed agitated. It wasn't as if she was talking anyway, so he didn't have to will or desire to acknowledge her.

'_Although she does seem cute.'_

"_Boy_, if you are ignoring me again…"

Amery raised an eyebrow, catching that short part of his master's words. Amery snorted, shifting his position to that of Indian style, while he spun his keys unconsciously in the air.

"Nope…I'm listening _sir."_ He smiled, basking in the fact that he was making his master twitch on end. He loved teasing the poor man, finding it hilarious, however the punishments were something he could go without. Soon enough he found himself caught red handed when the Guild Master asked for the young lady's name.

'_Crap.'_

"Uh..." He scratched his head, what did it sound like? Did he say Lorena? Was her name Lorena too? Oh wow what a coincidence! Damn, that would be too easy….something—think of something—

The something had blurted out of his mouth so suddenly, it got him a slap to the face.

"Excuse me? My name is not '_big boobs'._ Thankyouverymuch!" The female stellar mage huffed, clenching Loki's key on her ear. She was itching to just tug it off, summon him and tag team his ass down to hell.

Amery noticed her tense, and reach for her keys. Forget her name—he _knew_ what she was. Goldmine face palmed as he jumped up on the bed, flinging his pointer finger at her in a dramatic pose declaring she was a Stellar Mage. Before Lucy had time to begin some sort of sarcastic comment, Goldmine interrupted, pulling Amery off the bed and dropping him head first to the floor.

"Yes, she a Stellar Mage. No, she is not a guild member. Yes, she has _interesting features,"_ Lucy raised an eyebrow at Goldmine. "No, you cannot _attack _her—and finally she's here because of something _important."_

"…You still haven't told me her name." He noted smartly, peeving off his master. All it took were seconds for him to see a speeding black blur, and his vision to tunnel straight after. Only the words of his master lingered in his head while he blacked out from a boot to the head.

"—Amery you make me wonder..."

* * *

'_Wow…how long has it been since he's done that?'_

"Um, you know…I've never met a _male _stellar mage before."

"Huh?" Amery winced, as he tried to get himself back off the floor. He was sure there were marks from his face plant and the damn boot. Whining, he reached his hand out, as he pushed himself onto his knees. Looking around, he realized the female Stellar Mage was still there, sitting upon a pulled up wooden chair. Her own hand was outreached, giving him support to get off his knees and back somewhere more comfortable.

Reluctantly did he accept the gesture, finding it a bit embarrassing that a girl had to see him pummeled by someone. He blushed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Uh…thanks."

"It's Lucy."

He furrowed his brow.

"My name." She continued, wondering if he had sustained more than just a blackout.

"Oh."

Lucy expected some sort of joking to go along with his 'oh'. She frowned, rolling her eyes before walking out of his room.

"I'll wait outside for you to get freshened up."

A few minutes later and a set of bandages, Amery sat before Lucy, spinning his keys in a circular fashion upon the table. He was bored that's for sure. His head rested upon a hand while he stared dully at the repetitive motion of what he knew were his keys.

Lucy with her half lidded eyes knew the sign of a bored mage, seeing it in Natsu's eyes quite often. It had always led to some destruction of some sort in her home. However, they were in the bored mage's home and she wondered what would happen _here. _Mentally, she shrugged hoping to see maybe a broken window or two to match the missing door, still flat on the living room carpet.

"So, what's with all this '_important' _stuff my master is tellin' me about?" He looked up back to Lucy, stopping his keys.

A glimmer appeared in her eyes and immediately she pulled off her knapsack and dropped it onto Amery's kitchen table with a thud. She missed the widened eyes he had for the large bag as she pulled out Layla's book and opened to a page written in pure silver.

"Hot damn." Amery whistled, noticing the shiny font and list he mentally described as 'too long, don't read'. Skimming it despite his previous description, he frowned at an Elliptic Zodiac name printed beside his.

"So I'll need your help since you have the rest of the golden keys…" She began, before noticing Amery daze off, staring dully at the silver font in Layla's book. She nudged him from across the table. "Hey you okay?"

"You need the golden keys right?" He avoided her question, substituting it with his own. Seeing her nod, he sighed angrily rubbing at his wrist. Lucy's eyes glanced to his wrist noticing a rope band woven through what she knew was a golden ring with a blue sapphire stone. It was gorgeous.

"I can't help you right now." He grunted, rubbing harder at his wrist, dangling the ring.

"But Amery, you have the keys—"

"No I don't. Pisces _ran away_."

Her eyes widened.

Suddenly a crack shot into the air. Both Stellar Mages jumped at the noise, Amery less graceful than the two falling out of his chair backwards while Lucy sighed, knowing the looming figure behind her.

He seemed angry at the confession, his hand gripping loosely upon the chair Lucy sat upon. Despite his calm demeanor, Lucy knew he was angry. He didn't even greet her as he appeared. The small thought of that made her frown.

"Pisces is gone? Where did she _go?_" Loki narrowed his eyes at the fallen Stellar mage, his eyes darting to the key ring on the table. Pisces' key was missing as well. Loki then realized.

"She took her own _key?_ The most idiotic thing—how the hell did she get it from you?" He continued on, breaking his sentences as he continued to berate the confused male. Lucy began to tug at his sleeve telling him it was enough. Seeing him like this scared her.

Amery back on his feet stared back at Loki, both men the same height. He found himself not perturbed at the furious spirit, much less realizing he was a spirit with the entrance.

"I gave it to her."

* * *

Ch 12~Fin.

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A/N: Okay, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, however I feel as if I lengthen it any more, I might lose what I was trying to get out of it. This arc may be a bit longer than I thought, as I'm finding myself making shorter chapters instead of writing longer ones. So, once again shortness may be a continuing theme in this arc, or maybe till the end of the story. I'm not sure entirely.

Anyway. I hope this was adequate for all of you. Thank you for reading :).

Review. Possibly. Maybe. Yes.


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